COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - Atlanta-headquartered ARA, the largest privately held, full-service investment advisory brokerage firm in the nation focusing exclusively on the multihousing industry, recently brokered the sale of the Bonterra Lakeside apartment community, in Colorado Springs, CO.
ARA Denver-based senior associate, Kevin McKenna, senior vice president Ken Greene and principals, Doug Andrews and Jeff Hawks, represented the seller, Hamilton Zanze and Company, a San Francisco-based real estate investment company, in the transaction. Kurt Houtkooper, Chief Investment Officer of Hamilton Zanze stated, “This, our second transaction with Griffis / Blessing, provided us with another opportunity to fully execute on our value-add business plan and achieve significant returns for our investors.”
Griffis/Blessing, a Colorado Springs-based investment group and property management company, purchased the property for $16,500,000, which represents a price per unit of $105,769, and a price per square foot of $96.23.
Kevin McKenna explained, “We had strong interest from a number of buyers. This demand along with the unique nature of the property helped achieve the highest price per unit ever paid for a property built within this timeframe in Colorado Springs.”
Constructed in 1973 and renovated in 2007, Bonterra Lakeside is conveniently located in southwest Colorado Springs in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city. It is centrally located near military installations, civilian employers, retail shopping centers, and schools with superb road access to the rest of metro Colorado Springs via Interstate 25 and Colorado’s mountain resort towns via Highway 24. The Broadmoor Towne Center is located just to the north of the property, and offers a variety of national and local dining, home improvement, grocer, office and pet supply retailers. A Target, Office Max, PetCo, Cinemark Theaters and the Colorado Springs World Arena are among the additional options located less than five minutes east of the property.
Bonterra Lakeside’s tranquil atmosphere is enhanced by the adjacent Quail Lake Park, which provides a variety of amenities to residents including a lake for boating, fishing and swimming, basketball court, volleyball courts, picnic areas and a playground.
“This is truly one of the most unique properties in Colorado Springs. The average unit size is over 1,100 square feet, it is concrete construction, all of the units have a detached garage, and the setting right on Quail Lake is irreplaceable,” said Kevin McKenna
Kevin also noted, “The property has undergone substantial improvements over the last five years that included a completely remodeled clubhouse and a brand new fitness center from the ground up. It’s located in one of the tightest submarkets in the metro area with some of the best demographics and is able to demand very strong rents and occupancy.”
“Our plan is to add value to this property by creating energy efficiencies and enhancing the property amenity package” said Gary Winegar, Chief Investment Officer at Griffis/Blessing. “We understand this market very well and believe that enhancements directed at maximizing residents’ quality of life and enjoyment of living at Bonterra Lakeside will translate to additional profits for our investors at the bottom line”, Gary concluded.
Griffis / Blessing owns and manages over 5,000 units along the Front Range.
The property was 94% occupied at the time of closing.
To schedule an interview with an ARA executive regarding this transaction or for more information about ARA, please contact Lisa Robinson at lrobinson@ARAusa.com or 678.553.9360, or Amy Morris at amorris@arausa.com or 678.553.9366; locally, Kevin McKenna at kmckenna@ARAusa.com, Ken Greene at greene@ARAusa.com, Jeff Hawks at hawks@ARAusa.com, or Doug Andrews at andrews@ARAusa.com, or 303.260.4400.
About ARA
Atlanta-headquartered ARA is the largest privately held, full-service investment advisory firm in the nation that focuses exclusively on the brokerage, financing and capital sourcing of multihousing properties including conventional, affordable, distressed assets, notes sales, seniors, student & manufactured housing and multihousing land. ARA is comprised of the country’s top investment professionals who leverage a unique and fully integrated cooperative business platform of shared information, relationships and technology driven solutions. ARA’s unified enterprise approach ensures that clients are delivered the broadest asset exposure, effective matching of buyers and sellers, and the shortest transaction timeframes in the industry. The combination of resources, unparalleled market expertise and nationwide presence in the multihousing marketplace has resulted in average annual production volume of $5.4 billion in real estate transactions since 2004. For detailed information on ARA’s extensive multihousing investment services, visit www.ARAusa.com