That's just the beginning, Jeffrey J. Cohen, Metropolitan Properties' president, tells GlobeSt.com. Also within 30 days, the investment group will open a regional office in the Las Colinas area. Cohen says due diligence shows DFW and Houston to be a good investment market, where capitalization rates reflect risk. San Antonio's not in the picture, but Austin could be in the relatively near future. He predicts another 2,000 to 4,000 luxury units will be added to the portfolio.

Cohen says confidentiality agreements prevent him from saying how much each property commanded. But the $100-million investment has jumpstarted the portfolio with the 908-unit Post Shores, sold by Atlanta-based Post Properties Inc., and the 128-unit Hermitage in Houston's River Oaks section. All that Cohen will say about the Houston seller is that it's an investment group from Pittsburgh. The two acquisitions launch the buyer's Cabochon branding.

"Our investment strategy is a little more nimble than typical institutional investors," Cohen says. For the past year, Metropolitan Properties has been doing its homework in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market while other institutional investors had their sights set on Atlanta, Southern Florida and northeastern US properties. "We felt Dallas presented a much more opportunistic environment for us," he says. "We happened to be right."

The Cabochon at Las Colinas totals nearly 800,000 sf of residential space and 50,000 sf of commercial property. The European-style complex is situated in the Las Colinas Urban Center and abuts the 125-acre lake that is the heart of the upscale community. Jeff Price, principal, and associates David Fersing and Bill Simmons, all of the Apartment Group-Dallas, brokered the Las Colinas transaction along with an in-house team from Post Properties. Details of the Hermitage deal aren't available, but the acquisition totals 134,300 sf in a high-rise design in the tony River Oaks section.

"We did not merely add two premier properties to our portfolio," Cohen says. "We have aligned the company's image with a three-generation history of providing the highest level of property management and real estate investment services."

Metropolitan Properties of America is a privately held firm that provides real estate investment, property management and development services to leading institutions and investment partners nationwide. It currently owns, invests or manages about seven million sf in upscale multifamily communities in Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.