Equus Sells Off Suburban Multifamily Property

Madison Seven Trails in Ballwin, MO, one of the many multifamily properties recently sold by Equus in the region.

ST. LOUIS—Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. has just sold off another of the many multifamily properties it bought in the years just before the recession. The Philadelphia-based private equity fund manager sold the 532-unit Madison Seven Trails in Ballwin, MO, a St. Louis suburb, for $51 million to Monarch Investment & Management Group. At the time of the sale the community was more than 95% occupied.

“We've been an owner of multifamily in the St. Louis suburbs since 2006 and still own over 1,000 units across three properties,” Greg Curci, the vice president of Equus who oversaw the disposition, tells GlobeSt.com. “We hope to continue to build our St. Louis portfolio as we view the region's recent job growth and attractive quality of life as harbingers of consistent rent growth going forward. Additionally, with 85% of St. Louis apartments being over 25 years old, there are an abundance of attractive value-add upgrade opportunities throughout the region.”

“Seven Trails' irreplaceable location coupled with its generous unit sizes and broad amenity package resulted in strong investor interest for this iconic and high-performing asset,” Curci adds. Matt Bukhshtaber of CBRE also represented Equus.

This was not the first such sale for Equus. An affiliate of the firm bought a 17-property multifamily portfolio in 2003 and, as reported in GlobeSt.com, finished selling it off in early 2014 when Denver-based Monarch bought Madison Walnut Creek, a 350-unit apartment community located about six miles northwest of downtown Kansas City in suburban Clay County, KS for $21 million. And just before that transaction, Equus sold Madison Wood View, a 320-unit apartment community, located about six miles southwest of downtown Kansas City in suburban Wyandotte County, KS to Philadelphia-based PRG Real Estate for $22 million.  

But Equus also continues to purchase multifamily communities in the region. In 2014, an affiliate acquired Bell Prairie Point, a 376-unit multifamily community located in O'Fallon, MO, another St. Louis suburb, from affiliates of Bell Partners Inc. for an undisclosed price.

An affiliate of Equus acquired Madison Seven Trails in 2006 from a national real estate investment advisor for about $37 million. The transaction was originally made on behalf of BPG Investment Partnership VII, L.P., a $550 million private equity fund managed by Equus.

Built between 1967 and 1971, the Seven Trails community sits within St. Louis' West County submarket. Several major employers are nearby, as well as an abundance of retail. With an average unit size of about 1,200 square-feet, the garden-style apartment community offers a diverse mix of one, two, and three bedroom flats and townhome style units. Community amenities include four swimming pools, a fitness center, two lighted tennis courts, three indoor racquetball courts, and a basketball court.

Madison Seven Trails in Ballwin, MO, one of the many multifamily properties recently sold by Equus in the region.

ST. LOUIS—Equus Capital Partners, Ltd. has just sold off another of the many multifamily properties it bought in the years just before the recession. The Philadelphia-based private equity fund manager sold the 532-unit Madison Seven Trails in Ballwin, MO, a St. Louis suburb, for $51 million to Monarch Investment & Management Group. At the time of the sale the community was more than 95% occupied.

“We've been an owner of multifamily in the St. Louis suburbs since 2006 and still own over 1,000 units across three properties,” Greg Curci, the vice president of Equus who oversaw the disposition, tells GlobeSt.com. “We hope to continue to build our St. Louis portfolio as we view the region's recent job growth and attractive quality of life as harbingers of consistent rent growth going forward. Additionally, with 85% of St. Louis apartments being over 25 years old, there are an abundance of attractive value-add upgrade opportunities throughout the region.”

“Seven Trails' irreplaceable location coupled with its generous unit sizes and broad amenity package resulted in strong investor interest for this iconic and high-performing asset,” Curci adds. Matt Bukhshtaber of CBRE also represented Equus.

This was not the first such sale for Equus. An affiliate of the firm bought a 17-property multifamily portfolio in 2003 and, as reported in GlobeSt.com, finished selling it off in early 2014 when Denver-based Monarch bought Madison Walnut Creek, a 350-unit apartment community located about six miles northwest of downtown Kansas City in suburban Clay County, KS for $21 million. And just before that transaction, Equus sold Madison Wood View, a 320-unit apartment community, located about six miles southwest of downtown Kansas City in suburban Wyandotte County, KS to Philadelphia-based PRG Real Estate for $22 million.  

But Equus also continues to purchase multifamily communities in the region. In 2014, an affiliate acquired Bell Prairie Point, a 376-unit multifamily community located in O'Fallon, MO, another St. Louis suburb, from affiliates of Bell Partners Inc. for an undisclosed price.

An affiliate of Equus acquired Madison Seven Trails in 2006 from a national real estate investment advisor for about $37 million. The transaction was originally made on behalf of BPG Investment Partnership VII, L.P., a $550 million private equity fund managed by Equus.

Built between 1967 and 1971, the Seven Trails community sits within St. Louis' West County submarket. Several major employers are nearby, as well as an abundance of retail. With an average unit size of about 1,200 square-feet, the garden-style apartment community offers a diverse mix of one, two, and three bedroom flats and townhome style units. Community amenities include four swimming pools, a fitness center, two lighted tennis courts, three indoor racquetball courts, and a basketball court.