The acquistion equates to $46,071 per unit. Sterling bought the 26-building property through Sterling American Property III LP, an investment fund of Sterling Equities Inc. and American Securities Capital Partners. Gateway and Sterling will co-manage the property which sits on 21.5 acres

"The Park Crossing acquisition is a prime example of Sterling American property's investment model," Mel Mayers, Sterling vice president/acquisitions, says in a prepared statement. "Our funds develop niche markets for targeted investments of $10 million to $25 million."

Mayers says that range of investments is generally "too large for many local investors and are inefficient for larger institutional investors." Sterling also focuses on the purchase of non-traditional product types. Apartments were the company's top-performing asset in 2001, Mayers says.