Gables will be the joint venture's general partner and property manager. The three communities are Gables Stonebridge, 500 units, in Memphis, TN; Brentwood Gables, 254 units and Gables Hendersonville, 364 units, both in Nashville, TN.

Over the last 18 months, Gables has been reducing its holdings in the Volunteer State because the return on investment has not met its standard. This most recent sale completes its goal to decrease its interests from 9% to 3%. The company manages 2,965 apartment homes in Tennessee. It is maintaining ownership of two assets, the 464-unit Gables Cordova in Memphis and the 548-unit Gables Hickory Hollow in Nashville, both of which are producing "extremely high returns" because of tax-exempt financing, according to a company news release.

Gables owns or has an interest in 83 multifamily communities with 24,774 completed units and another 10 communities with 2,719 under development or lease-up. The communities are in major cities in Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Texas.