CHARLOTTE, NC-Not satisfied with 15 multifamily acquisitions in 2011—and always looking for new markets—Cortland Partners just invested $18.2 million in a duo of Charlotte apartment communities. The acquisitions mark Cortland’s first deals into the Queen City.

In separate transactions, Cortland Partners acquired Cameron at Hickory Grove, and Delta Crossing. Both are garden-style communities located a few miles from Uptown Charlotte and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and University City. University City is home to the university, a research and technology park, a hospital and more. It is the second-largest employment center in the city behind uptown.

Cortland’s decision to move into Charlotte now came out of its research-driven approach to market selection, Marvin Banks, president and CFO of Cortland, tells GlobeSt.com. Banks says Charlotte demonstrated a supply and demand profile consistent with the characteristic its investment profile demands—a meaningful bias toward future demand for apartments driven by job growth, favorable demographics and controlled supply.