Amstar Staging $300-Mil Buying Spree

The privately held commercial real estate investment firm already has a portfolio of offices, apartments and hotels of more than $700 million. To prepare for the buying spree, the company's finance department has secured $100 million in available debt. "We are prepared to meet the financing needs of a very aggressive acquisition plan," says Brad O'Neil, Amstar's director of finance. "We recouped $50 million of equity investment in Independence Plaza, our Denver headquarters facility, and secured a new $50-million revolving credit facility." The 25-story Independence Plaza, along the 16th Street Mall and 17th Street at the edge of Lower Downtown in Denver's CBD, is Amstar's flagship property in Denver.

Amstar has secured the $50-million office property financing through Bank One Arizona and Dallas-based Guaranty Bank, explained Brad O'Neil, Amstar's Director of Finance. Amstar also secured a $50-million revolving credit facility with the Denver REG Office of Wells Fargo, which can be used to collateralize hotel, office or multifamily properties. "This facility can be expanded to $80 million, with additional qualifying properties, and represents a marked expansion of our solid relationship with Wells Fargo," he says.

Amstar's acquisitions criteria vary according to portfolio property type. Commercial office portfolio criteria includes properties priced from $20 million to $60 million in the CBDs of major metropolitan markets that have more than 20 million sf of rentable space. Hotel portfolio acquisition efforts are focused on value-added opportunities priced to $50 million in primary, urban and resort markets across the continental US. Apartment portfolio acquisition targets are to-be-built and rehab opportunities priced between $20 million and $40 million that are located in infill areas of major employment markets. Southern California, Denver and the greater Washington, DC. areas are of prime interest.

Amstar recently has completed $135 million in four separate apartment community sales to institutional and private US investors and is marketing five additional multifamily properties located in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest.