NEWARK-TreeTop Development has acquired the Willie T. Wright Apartments, a 115-unit rental complex located at 135 Prince Street in the Central Ward district here. The price was not disclosed for the Section 8 housing, which was acquired from a private owner through a third party. The deal took more than a year to complete.

“We needed approval on the HUD level and from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency,” Adam Mermelstein, a principal of locally based TreeTop Development, tells GlobeSt.com.

TreeTop assumed an existing mortgage as well as contributing equity. Richard Kelin of Feinstein, Raiss, Kelin and Booker represented the buyers as legal counsel. “We liked this building because, one, the economics made sense, and two, it was built in 1973 and the bones were very good,” Mermelstein adds. The company will invest $1.5 million in renovations for the complex, including upgraded building systems, common areas, unit interiors and site landscaping.

The deal is TreeTop’s latest acquisition in its strategy of purchasing high-performing HUD apartments. The company has compiled a portfolio of more than 1,250 apartments in Newark and more than 2,000 units in Essex County. “Our general business mode is to buy these properties that need capital and aesthetic improvement,” Mermelstein says. “We’re opportunistic and value-add players. “

The project was 87% occupied when it was purchased two months ago. It is now 100% occupied, Mermelstein says, due partly to the improvements made immediately upon closing. “Rather than do the capital improvements slowly, we bang it out and show the residents we mean business,” Mermelstein says. “We’re going to change the culture.”