Apartment Realty Advisor principal David Mitchell, who is marketing Metropole Apartments, says Lynd Residential acquired an asset that wasn't stabilized, but the company is working on lease-up. Metropole, at 3616 Richmond Ave. has an occupancy in the low 80s, up from 75% in December 2009. He tells GlobeSt.com that the property should be fully stabilized by April. The call for offers on Metropole Apartments is set for March 25.

Upon stabilization, the complex will still offer a lot of upside. For one thing, Mitchell points out, there's been no new supply coming onto the market, and none anticipated during the next three or four years.

"If we start getting jobs back, and with no new supply coming on line, we could see rents in 2011 or 2012 really starting to take off," Mitchell explains. The current asking rents on Metropole units are around $1.50 per square foot, with the average size running around 966 square feet.

Mitchell says the ideal buyers pretty much run the gamut from pension fund advisors, to private and public REITs, to private investors. Furthermore, upon stabilization, financing will be available from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. "We've had several mortgage bankers saying they'd love to do a high-end deal like this," Mitchell comments.

Metropole's story begins in 2005, when Cambridge Development acquired a vacant office building with plans to convert it into living space. Cambridge Development finished its work in 2007, creating a luxury high-rise multifamily complex right around the time fundamentals began to weaken. Cambridge Development brought the asset to market in late winter 2008. Metropole was under contract several times but never made it out of escrow.

Lynd Residential and McCombs Enterprises acquired the note in early December 2009 and foreclosed on the property immediately thereafter. Mitchell says the partners don't have to sell; that they could hang on to the asset and own and operate it for awhile. "More than anything, they made a great, great buy," Mitchell comments. "Now they want to turn this around and make a quick profit."