Investors Snap Up Suburban Denver Apartments for $40M

RedPeak Properties has sold two Colorado apartment communities that total 360 units. ARA brokered the two separate sales.

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Writer

Denver - Hunter and QuailThornton and Federal Heights, Colo.—Two Colorado apartment properties recently changed hands: the 140-unit Quail Ridge Apartments in Thornton and the 220-unit Hunters Cove Apartments in Federal Heights. ARA Denver-based principals Terrance Hunt, Shane Ozment, Jeff Hawks, and Doug Andrews represented the seller, Denver-based real estate investor RedPeak Properties, which sold to separate buyers.

Green Leaf Partners, a Danville, Calif.-based real estate investor, purchased the 1985-vintage Quail Ridge for $15.8 million, which is about $112,500 per unit or $148 per square foot. The property was 95 percent occupied at the time of closing. Thornton is a north suburb of Denver.

Walnut and Main, a Boulder, Colo.-based family real estate investment company, purchased the 1987-vintage Hunters Cove for $25 million, which is about $113,600 per unit, or $151 per square foot. Hunters Cove was also 95 percent occupied at the time of closing, and Federal Heights is also north of Denver.

Denver - Hunter and Quail 2According to Hunt, both buyers were seeking 1980s value-add opportunities in strong suburban submarkets, and both properties ought to benefit from the northern corridor’s continued growth, along with a strong market overall in metro Denver. Both buyers plan to continue renovations to the properties to drive rents.

Denver is currently one of the fastest-growing U.S. metros, especially in terms of job creation. According to investment specialist Marcus & Millichap, employment growth will add nearly 50,000 jobs to metro Denver by the end of 2014, and investors are anticipating strong household formation as a result. “Assets in need of repositioning are garnering strong investor interest and range in quality, amenities and size,” the company’s latest report on the Denver market notes.