The new owner's first move was to rename the 55%-leased complex, situated on 6.4 acres at 5400 Boca Raton Blvd., to Hillside View Apartments. Work has just begun on exterior and interior upgrades for a complex that's one block from Interstate 30 and within five miles of Downtown Fort Worth and Arlington's entertainment district.

The buyer's experience in the struggling neighborhood, now beginning to gain traction on its revitalization, was the chief motivation for the Miami Beach-based seller, LNR Corp., to select him from the pack of prospects, according to Al Silva in the Fort Worth office of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. He and Kelley Sparkman in the brokerage house's Dallas office represented the seller and buyer.

"He has working knowledge of that market," Silva says. "He's running one property and it's doing quite well. He is a strong buyer with experience in the area and a reputation for closing deals he puts under contract." He says the Colorado Springs investor is holding a contract for another 346-unit asset in another part of Tarrant County, a deal possibly closing this week.

The 15-building Hillside View Apartments has one-, two- and three-bedroom units, averaging 858 sf. Rents average $498 per month. Centra Asset Partners Inc. of Houston is the new property manager.

"He could push rents at least 10%, judging from the amount of upgrades they're doing," Silva tells GlobeSt.com. He says the finished work is going to bounce the 1980s-era class C complex to "class B quality."