Judwin built the 13-building complex at 1315 NASA Pkwy. between1968 and 1976, sold it in 1984 and then bought it back in 1995.This time, there were 19 offers on the table for the 95%-leasedasset, with Cottonwood Capital of Salt Lake City winning the dealdue to its track record in the area, reputation for closing andpricing, according to David C. Wylie, partner and principal inHouston for Apartment Realty Advisors.

Wylie says money wasn't the only objective. "We didn't take justprice into consideration and they weren't the highest offer," Wylietells GlobeSt.com. "We felt like they had the best chance ofgetting the deal done." The seller's team included ARA partners andprincipals David Mitchell, David K. Oelfke and Matthew P. Rotan andvice president Russell D. Jones.

"This is an asset they've held for quite a long time and it'sdone very well for them," Wylie says. "This was simply aninvestment strategy for them to sell some of their long-term holdsand use that money to buy and develop new assets."