Ohio Investors Buy 152-Unit Complex in Tight Suburb

STAFFORD, TX-An Ohio-based private capital group has bought the Fountain Park apartments, a 176-unit multifamily development at 12525 South Kirkwood in Stafford, TX. The seller was asking $6.5 million for the complex.

Veard & Lowe Investments is the new owner of the 98%-occupied community, situated at the corner of Kirkwood and US Highway 59. Fowler Shore Flanigan Investments, a San Francisco-based private investor, was the seller.

M. Todd Marix of CB Richard Ellis’ Houston multifamily team tells GlobeSt.com that the class C property is the only affordable housing project in the area. Its high occupancy made the deal particularly attractive. Stafford, he is quick to point out, has a shortage of apartment supply and a barrier to entry for new developments.

Fountain Park, says Marix, is surrounded by class A developments. Many tenants of the freshly sold property work in the high-end retail centers in the immediate vicinity.The complex was constructed in 1970 and renovated extensively in 1995 when Fowler Shore Flanigan bought it. The CB Richard Ellis team consisted of Marix, G. Craig LaFollette and J. Todd Stewart, who represented the seller.

The CB Richard Ellis brokerage trio is enjoying a stellar year in multifamily sales. The city has the highest multifamily occupancy rates, 92.5%, since 1998. Houston recorded over 3,740 units of positive absorption in the third quarter.