Cincinnati Investor Stakes Class A Claim With Uptown Buys

Ted Broadfoot, Fath's regional operations manager, tells GlobeSt.com that the holdings will be renamed as the buyer puts in its own management team to help boost occupancy, now riding in the low to mid 90% range. The 158-unit Post Commons at 2821 Carlisle St. will be called the Commons of Turtle Creek while the 196-unit Post Residences at 3227 McKinney Ave. will go back to its original moniker of the Residences on McKinney.

Until now, Fath was known in the region for acquiring under-performers, renovating and repositioning them. Broadfoot says that was because the privately held company really couldn't compete in the bidding wars against REITs and institutional money. These days, the deep-pocketed buyers aren't as aggressive. Thus, Broadfoot says, buyers like Fath stand a chance in today's market.

With the acquisitions, Fath Properties' now owns 4,500 units in North Texas. Overall, the company's two-state portfolio tallies about 8,200 units. The buyer purchases "two or three" complexes on the average per year. There are no more Dallas-Fort Worth complexes under contract, but owner Harry Fath is looking, says Broadfoot. "Dallas is a primary focus," he adds. In the last four years, Fath has doubled its footprint in the metroplex.

The Post Properties' deal came about quickly once the buyer was decided. "We were in and out in 45 days," says Broadfoot, who brokered Fath's side of the deal. Jeff Price, principal in the Dallas-based Apartment Group, and co-broker Bill Simmons steered the talks for Post Properties.

For at least a year, the Atlanta REIT has been selling older product and concentrating on the development of luxury projects in metro infill sites. The Dallas complexes are over 15 years old and both ended up in the portfolio from the 1997 merger with Columbus Realty Trust.