AUSTIN-After two years eyeing potential deals, CarrollOrganization landed its first Austin area buy, adding the256-unit Archstone Tech Ridge Apartments to its fast-growing Texasportfolio. The multifamily property will berebranded ARIUM Tech Ridge, with the Atlanta buyer putting its ownmanagement team into place.

"Pricing has gotten very aggressive in Austin," commentsM. Pat Carroll, Carroll Organization's founder andCEO. "We've chased a lot, but this is the first deal in which wefelt as though we were getting a good price and some upsidepotential." Carroll tells GlobeSt.com the assetwasn't on the market, but rather, was a direct, off-market dealbetween the buyer and the seller, which operated under the entityname BP Tech Ridge LP of Englewood, CO.

Unlike other buys Carroll Organization has closed within thepast several months, this 95%-occupied multifamily property at 305E. Yager Lane won't require much in the way of upgrades. Theproperty was, in fact, finished in late 2010 whenArchstone and Bluerock Real Estate LLCformed a joint venture to complete it after the original developer went intobankruptcy.