Ackerman Buys Bayberry Apartments for $10M

(Read more on the multifamily market.)

COLUMBUS, OH-The Ackerman Group, a Cincinnati-based real estate development company, has purchased Bayberry Place Apartments here from ING Clarion. The 296-unit property sold for $10.2 million.

Matthew Brown, senior investment specialist with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, represented the buyer, while James Walsh and Gary Cooper from the brokerage represented the seller. Brown says the property is 92% occupied. He says his clients are looking to expand their apartment portfolio, and that they wanted to be between Indianapolis and Kentucky, within driving distance.

“Also, within that area, Columbus has the best improving fundamentals,” Brown tells GlobeSt.com. “The local economy is doing pretty well. It’s the capital, so it’s not as impacted by those cities that are mostly driven by industry. Also, the city is one of the few large Midwestern cities that has a positive population growth, and the area is becoming a hub for cargo transportation.” He says he’s seen the basic fundamentals of the overall apartment market improve as well, with concessions disappearing and rents increasing.

Brown says the new owner doesn’t plan a major remodeling of the property, but the group may spend some money to improve the parking lots and roofs. One project that may come up, he says, is finishing a job to install basements into the other half of the units. “The ones that had basements put in are getting $50 to $75 more per month in rent,” Brown says. The units rent from $599 to $650 per month.