Scott Levitt, Lane Realty's director of investments, tells GlobeSt.com that the Dallas-Ft. Worth market is ripe for the picking. Some 25 to 30 possible deals were screened before settling into serious talks for the Irving complex.
"Texas is a big part of our acquisition strategy because the market is perfect due to constricting supply," says Levitt. The buyer also is chasing a deal in San Antonio.
Lane Realty has its eyes on class A properties built after 1990, where there is upside potential in taking what is perceived as a short-term risk. The Atlanta firm, which has a development arm, is looking only at existing properties and generally those with asking prices above $10 million, according to Levitt. The southeastern US and Mid-Atlantic regions also are on the company's radar screen. Levitt isn't willing to say how much capital is available for this year's buys, but the company acknowledged spending $76.4 million in 2000 for five multifamily complexes.
So far this year, Lane has bought the 284-unit Keswick Village Apartments in Conyers, GA and the 204-unit Ft. Bayou in Ocean Springs, MS. Keswick, built in the mid-1990s, cost $18 million and is getting $450,000 in improvements while the 30-something Ft. Bayou went in an all-cash deal for $8.16 million and is in the midst of $2.1 million in upgrades. Irving's Vista Pointe, completed in 1996, is getting $660,000 in improvements, which will be done by the end of the year. "We think there are a lot of great buying opportunities because some of the markets are soft," Levitt tells GlobeSt.com.
Brian O'Boyle and Jerry Lamm of O'Boyle-Lamm in Dallas brokered the Irving deal on behalf of seller, Equity Residential of Chicago. The upscale complex, which boasts an occupancy in the mid-90% is located on 13.61 acres in the Valley Ranch section, where land and buys are at a premium, says Levitt.
The Lane Co. manages about 5,000 apartments in Texas, primarily in Dallas and Houston. Until now, the Texas portfolio consisted of only Houston properties: Los Prados, 264 units; Magnolia Cove I and II, 288 units; Regency Crossing, 88 units; and Woods on Beechnut, 234 units.
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