The seller of the Parkway was WMFMT Real Estate Limited Partnership, a partnership controlled by Archon Residential, one of the largest commercial real estate venture funds in the US. Archon, owned by Goldman Sachs, purchased the Parkway in January 1997 as part of an $850-million HUD note portfolio. During its ownership, Archon completed major repairs and renovation to the property, including a new $2.5 million clubhouse.

Archon has now sold all of the components of the original Parkway other than the office building.

The Parkway, the second-largest single apartment sale in the metro area, is a 666-unit, four-building community. Built in 1982, these four buildings were part of a venture backed by the city of Denver to redevelop the location.

The original Parkway Planned Unit Development included 112 individually-owned townhomes, the 177-unit Tower at Speer, the 99-unit Denver Tower condominium community, a King Soopers grocery store, and a 130,000-sf office building, in addition to the four buildings of the Parkway that just sold.

"This is by far the largest apartment sale in Colorado's history," says Jeff Hawks, an apartment broker with Grubb & Ellis, who along with his partner, Doug Andrews, handled the Parkway portion of the transaction.

"Apartment sales have been increasing in total dollar volume as size of buildings and prices per unit have both increased," Andrews says.

Al Ray, of the Al Ray Cos., was the sole broker on the 230-unit Saddle Ridge apartment complex in Arapahoe County. Ray says the Saddle Ridge deal closed separate from the Parkway project.