PEORIA, AZ-Murray Hill Developments Ltd. has made it second buy in the region, acquiring ownership of the 264-unit Desert Harbor Apartments. The Edmonton, Alberta buyer paid $26.6 million to Equity Residential Trust of Chicago for the property.
According to Orion Investment Real Estate's Alon Shnitzer, the property at 8885 W. Thunderbird Rd. went through the entire marketing process, down to a best-and-final offer. Shnitzer, who represented the buyer, says escrow lasted approximately 75 days.
Working with Shnitzer were Orion colleagues Rue Bax, John Kobierowski, Doug Lazovick, and Eddie Chang. Brad Goff and David Lord with Apartment Realty Advisors represented the seller, which had obtained the 95%-occupied multifamily property through its $9.1 billion portfolio buy from Archstone.
Though the complex is a little more than a decade old, it's had an interesting history. Archstone acquired it in 2006 from Alliance Residential Co. for $29 million (at the time, the property was known as Broadstone at Desert Harbor Apartments). In early 2005, Alliance bought the multifamily property from bankruptcy for $19.3 million – at that point, the property was known as Riverwalk at Desert Harbor.
As for now, the buyer isn't planning any upgrades or changes to operations. "He wants to get his arms around it for around 90 days, then determine the business plan," Shnitzer explains. He tells GlobeSt.com that Murray Hill Developments is focused on building a portfolio in the metro area. The Canadian buyer first came to the Valley in late 2012, when it acquired 103 units within the Westover Parc condominium property in Phoenix for $5.3 million (Westover Parc has a total of 160 units). When it came to Desert Harbor, "the buyer liked the location; it was a solid property that had been well-maintained by the REIT," Shnitzer remarked. He acknowledges that interest rates did rise during the escrow period, but given that Murray Hill Developments is a long-term holder and the loan was just under 60%, the increase didn't impact the sale.
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