LOUISVILLE, KY-Northern Group Inc. has purchased the 156-building, 622-unit Americana Apartment complex, near the Louisville International Airport. The property, known as the city's largest immigrant resettlement site, is stretched out across 36 acres.

The New York City-based Northern Group says the buildings, built in 1948, have a 90% occupancy rate. A spokeswoman for the company tells GlobeSt.com that there are plans to renovate the property, and use PMR Cos. to manage the site. "Due to the lack of significant maintenance work, rents have not increased in three years," she says. "They will put money into rehabbing, with all new windows and amenities."

The spokeswoman says she cannot divulge the purchase price for the property, or the former owner. "They bought it at a good price, and typically then transform older buildings and neighborhoods with new infrastructure," she says.

Chief operating officer Jonathan Zich says in a statement that the recent purchase is a natural fit for the company's long-term strategy to increase ownership in urban neighborhoods. More than 2,500 residents occupy the Americana property, according to the Americana Community Center, a nonprofit organization that helps the residents in the complex. Northern Group purchased the 357-unit Prospect Park Apartment complex in Pittsburgh in November.