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DALLAS-Lion Gables Apartment Fund LP, now Uptown's largestmultifamily owner, has capitalized on inherited assets by selling a422-unit State Thomas block to Rreef and the 290-unit State ThomasRavello to Principal Financial Group. Uptown's fast-paced sales ofall product type have made it hard for local brokers to keep tabson deal sizes, but ballpark estimates are placing the combinedtrades above the $90-million mark.

Chicago-based Rreef got the 93%-leased State Thomas Brownstones,CityView Flats and State Thomas Townhomes, spanning nearly sevenfull blocks on 13.25 acres, at the heart of the priciest close-inmarket in the city. "In our minds, this is one of the mostdesirable places to live for the 25 to 35 age group," says BradGries, vice president in Chicago, who negotiated the purchase froma closed-end fund managed by the New York City-based ING ClarionPartners as it sheds assets from the takeover of Gables ResidentialTrust. In keeping with the Boca Raton, FL-based Gables'restrictions, Rreef has renamed its purchase to Manchester StateThomas.