MEMPHIS, TN—The Aspen Companies has snapped up more than 700 affordable HUD apartments across the Southeast for about $22 million. The affordable housing acquisition gives Aspen a greater presence in key urban markets like Memphis, TN, Greenville, SC, Augusta, GA, and Gainesville, FL.

Aspen has recently turned its attention to Southern markets. The company is in the midst of an aggressive expansion program to add high-performing and well-located projects based section 8 apartment assets to its portfolio.

“By tapping into niche markets such as HUD apartment buildings, we've been able to grow our business tremendously over the past three years with value-added acquisitions,” says Adam Mermelstein, a principal of Aspen. “Specifically, we've focused on distressed properties in urban middle-class neighborhoods where there's a strong demand for quality housing that's also affordable. While these properties have been underperforming, the locations make them prime candidates to be repositioned into positive cash flow holdings.”