Wall Street Apartments at 11700 Wall St. was picked up by Triumph Land & Capital Management LLC of Dallas, which has set aside $2 million to $2.5 million for upgrades. The buyer also assumed a $15-million loan, which carries a mid-5% fixed-rate interest. The loan is held by PNC Bank, a subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh. The new owner has renamed the complex to Providence at Wall Street.

Venterra Realty Management of Webster, TX has bought Villas of Bristol Heights at 12071 Dessau Rd. Patton Jones, managing director with Apartment Realty Advisors' Austin office, says he couldn't discuss details of the Villas of Bristol Heights' sale due to a confidentiality agreement with the buyer. Venterra Realty did not return calls by deadline to comment on the purchase.

Although the sale prices weren't available, Metairie, LA-based MBS had bought Wall Street Apartments in 2004 for $16.5 million. The following year it picked up Villas of Bristol Heights for $31.1 million.

Jones points to Wall Street Apartments as a classic case of a value-add opportunity. "Triumph showed the most interest as they were looking for a reposition opportunity," he tells GlobeSt.com. "It was a great opportunity for them to get a good asset, built in the middle 1990s, in the Medical Center District."

Aaron Graft, principal of Triumph Land & Capital, says the 78%-leased Wall Street Apartments is the company's first buy in San Antonio and he'd had his eye on it for awhile. "We couldn't get to the valuation they wanted on it, but we hung around and it ended up coming back to us," he explains.

Graft says interior upgrades should take about 60 days, with much of the initial work focused on 11 empty units that were damaged through vandalism and leaks. Once the units are redone, he says rents will be raised by about $100 to $150 per month. If the units successfully lease, he says Triumph plans to raise rents on other units.

Wall Street Apartments has one, two and three-bedroom units. Rents are $650 to $1,200 per month. Myan Management Group of Southlake, TX is the property overseer.

Villas of Bristol Heights has one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Its rents are $560 to $1,187 per month.

Jones teamed with Casey A. Fry in Apartment Realty Advisors' Austin office and David Wylie, a principal in its Houston office. Jones says MBS, which declared bankruptcy in 2007, is in the processing of deciding which assets to sell and which ones to hold and reposition.

During the past several months, Triumph Land & Capital Management has been actively working MBS' pipeline in Houston. In late July 2007, it pulled three assets out of receivership and about one month later flipped one of them, the 276-unit Village at Loch Katrine at 16545 Loch Katrine Lane. Meanwhile, it has the 228-unit Timbers of Pine Hollow at 2020 Plantation Dr. in escrow. And, it's planning a long-term hold of the 228-unit Providence at Champion, formerly Huntwick Apartments, at 5100 FM 1960 Rd.