Woodlark, a five-year-old company that owns or controls over 4,000 units in 12 states on behalf of TIC investors, bought the six-building complex at 2415 S. University Parks Dr. from Royal Properties of Champaign, IL. It also recently purchased the Reserve, a 276-unit student-housing property at 13903 Babcock Rd. in San Antonio, from Royal for an estimated $40 million.
Robert Stone, a first vice president in the Detroit office of CB Richard Ellis who represented both sides in the two transactions, says he can't comment on either sale. The property reportedly sold for its asking price.
Typically, Royal develops and builds projects with the intent to sell to other companies with management expertise. In 2006, Royal sold its entire portfolio of 13 student-housing properties, containing 5,710 bedrooms, to American Campus Communities Inc. of Austin for $244 million. ACC owns 25 student housing properties with more than 16,000 beds and manages additional properties with 27,600 beds.
Sources say ACC had agreed to purchase the Reserve and Outpost after completion, but withdrew its offer for undisclosed reasons. Both the Outpost and Reserve were completed last fall.
The 224,577-sf Outpost, located across from Baylor University, consists of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, with a total of 543 bedrooms. Units are typically rented out by the bedroom, with rates ranging from $440 to $540 per month. The fully furnished apartments include appliances and plasma TVs. Cable and Internet service are included in the rent. Shared amenities include a gym, computer lab, screening room, tanning beds, DVD rentals, volleyball court, basketball court, swimming pool and hot tub.
Although Woodlark concentrates on student housing, Arvind Chary, the company's vice president of acquisitions, tells GlobeSt.com that it also buys multifamily properties near military installations and will consider conventional multifamily buys on a case-by-case basis. He says it favors secondary and tertiary markets because of their more favorable pricing metrics. A companion company, Woodlark Opportunity Fund LLC, acquires off-campus student housing in smaller markets with growing university populations. It owns five assets, totaling 705 bedrooms, in four states.
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