Pinnacle Realty Management Co., the Brentdale's overseers, put the deal before affiliate, Olympic Investors LLC, as soon as local employees learned that the gated complex at 1515 Rio Grande Dr. in Plano was going to be sold by L&B Realty Advisors, the Dallas-based asset manager for seller of record, MERS Acquisitions Ltd., the investment arm of the Michigan Employees Retirement System. "When they became aware that there was a buying opportunity, they decided to buy it themselves," Michael J. White, managing director for Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP in Orange County, CA, tells GlobeSt.com. The decision-makers for Olympic and Pinnacle are John Goodman and Stan Harrelson in Seattle.

The Brentdale's new owner is joint venture between Olympic and Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. of Boston. "HFF had 60 days to locate an equity partner and close the transaction," White says in a press release. "We were able to target an ongoing equity partner relationship with a quick turnaround." Earlier this year, the JV bought a large multifamily development in Chicago.

White says the Brentdale's location "with very little competition in an established area with high barriers to entry" firmed up the decision to buy. Olympic and Pinnacle have looked at other Dallas-area properties, but "the Brentdale stood out," he says. The Collin County asset, bought by MERS in June 1998, is assessed at about $14 million.

White says the 20.9-acre Brentdale sold free and clear, with HFF arranging a Fannie Mae loan for the takedown. Now that the deal's done, Pinnacle is planning a minor rehab at the 19-year-old complex, a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments. Units range from 650 sf to 1,130 sf and monthly rents go from $577 to $958.