"Northline Terrace was a perfect fit for Irvington because of the properties it owns nearby," says Brian Janak, an investment broker with Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. Janak, teaming with Marcus & Millichap's Robert Su to broker the deal, tells GlobeSt.com that Irvington made the "strongest offer" for the complex at 122 E. Crosstimbers St. "They wanted it more than anyone else because it made sense geographically," he adds. "With all the redevelopment that going on with Northline Mall, it's just to change the whole market. It's really going to give it a shot in the arm and the buyer saw the opportunity."

Janak says the 49-year-old complex is located in an "underrated submarket." Northline Terrace is 95% occupied by mostly with families. It features all-bills paid with a chiller system, which "scared a lot off a lot of investors," he explains. "The buyer wasn't worried about it because they're a hands-on manager."

Mercantile Asset Management bought the complex in the early 1990s. "They thought it was time to sell," Janak says, adding it the seller's lone multifamily holding in the city. "During the time they owned it, they turned it around," he says. "It was really run down when they bought it."