BIRMINGHAM, AL-Colonial Properties Trust has sold 1,320 apartment units in four properties for $64.8 million. Two of the properties are in Texas and two are in North Carolina and were carried on Colonial's books at a cost of about $63.5 million.

The names of the properties are Colonial Village at Estrada in Dallas; Copper Crossing in Fort Worth; the Meadows in Asheville; and the Trestles in Raleigh. The properties were built between 1974 and 2001. The average age is 21.7 years. The Estrada property was encumbered with $9.8 million in debt that was paid off as part of that transaction. Buyer information was not released by Colonial, and it was not otherwise available Monday afternoon.

The properties were included in Colonial's 2005 acquisition of Cornerstone Realty Income Trust. Since the merger closed in April 2005, Colonial has sold off 9,719 units for $543 million.

As of December, Colonial owned or managed 46,537 apartment units, 20.2 million sf of office space and 11.5 million sf of retail space. Paul Earle, the EVP of Cornerstone's multifamily division, says this latest disposition and the others since the merger is part of the company's effort to reduce the average age of its assets, improve the quality of the overall portfolio and concentrate its investments in high-growth Sunbelt markets.