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PHOENIX-A Hallandale, FL-based converter, who'd entered the market with high hopes in early 2006, has sold its last conversion attempt, the 112-unit Santa Rosa Apartments. SunVest Communities USA, which sold the class A complex for $16.5 million, or $147,321 per unit, has officially departed the metro area with the transaction.

According to Apartment Realty Advisors' vice president Bret Zinn, the marketing period for the 10-year-old complex at 3425 E. Chandler Blvd. was two weeks during which SunVest received multiple offers. Buyer Del Ray Property Group LLC of Marina Del Ray, CA came forward with the highest offer after just closing on the 272-unit Laguna Hills at 4800 S. Alma School Rd. in Chandler for $38.5 million. "That's when SunVest immediately took it off the market," Zinn tells GlobeSt.com.

Zinn says the Del Rey Property Group is aggressively pursuing other acquisition opportunities in the market, but nothing else is under contract. "They're strictly an apartment-for-rent operator," he says. "They're not looking to convert."