http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/technology/developer-plans-new-downtown-apartments-completes-million-sale-apartment-complexes/article_4feb26a0-4263-5941-918e-abe7aba9b234.htmlFrom TW:
In one of the biggest one-day apartment-property sale clusters in Tulsa County’s history, American Residential Group sold all four of its properties outside of the downtown area for a combined $95 million.
Thanks in part to the sale, American Residential is preparing to build two new properties downtown that could total well over 300 units.
The transactions, which closed Tuesday, hands them to Weidner Apartment Homes, a Seattle-based apartment management group that manages more than 38,000 units across the country.
Affected properties include Lincoln on Memorial at 7777 S. Memorial Drive; Villas on Memorial, located directly to the south of Lincoln on Memorial at 7877 S. Memorial Drive; Memorial Creek, located at 9602 S. Memorial Drive; and Woodland Park, located at 7350 S. Garnett Road.
All current employees of these communities will be retained by Weidner.
Jay Helm, president and CEO of American Residential, said the move is a combination of a redeployment of capital and a refocus.
“We decided we wanted to focus on urban development, not just here but in other cities,” Helm said.
That focus includes plans for two new developments in downtown Tulsa. The first, an unnamed project formerly known as Hartford Commons, will be $21 million in new construction at 215 S. Greenwood Ave., and will feature 162 units.
Steve Ganzkow, senior vice president at American Residential, said they’re in the process of bidding out the final details of construction and plan to begin construction by the end of December.
Tulsa businessman Elliot Nelson, developer of McNellie’s Public House and various other businesses in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, has a small interest in the development, said Ganzkow.
The second, to be located on the southeast corner of Elgin and Archer near ONEOK Field, would be a new building with between 160 and 220 units. Plans for that development have not yet been finalized, though Ganzkow said they hope to start construction in the middle of next year.
American Residential currently has the land for that development under contract from the Stadium Trust.
In addition, Ganzkow said they’d like to have a third project under development over the next three years. They’re currently investigating potential areas for development along Riverside Drive and the area between downtown and 21st Street.
Ganzkow said he felt the company’s non-downtown developments have been successful, but their passion lies closer to downtown.
“We’ve been involved with the suburban market and the urban market, and we’ve found that urban markets are very complicated and time-consuming,” he said. “But we believe that being able to give back something to the community and participate in the revitalization is exciting for us.”
The company is also considering building in the urban core of other cities, though they haven’t identified where yet.
American Residential Group’s downtown-area communities, which will remain with the company, include Lincoln Park at 18th Street and Carson Avenue, Renaissance Downtown at 11th Street and Denver Avenue, the Tribune Lofts at 20 E. Archer St., and the Metro at Brady at 10 E. Archer.
Lincoln Park was originally developed by Helm in 1984 for a different company, while the rest were built by American Residential. Tribune Lofts were made from the redeveloped former home of the Tulsa Tribune.
Helm said the properties were marketed for sale for four weeks before they entered into a contract with Weidner. He said the company received multiple offers, but went with Weidner because he felt the company would be a good fit for the residents and employees.
The purchase is Weidner’s first in the Tulsa area, though Helm said they’re looking for other communities in the area in which to buy.
In September, Weidner purchased Liberty Pointe Apartments near Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City for $37.25 million.
All of Weidner’s Oklahoma transactions were brokered by Brandon Lamb and Tim McKay with Apartment Realty Advisors.