A Buckhead apartment complex is dusting off its swingin' '60s reputation under the auspices of new owners from the 21st century.
The Metropolitan at Buckhead has been picked up by Elite Street Capital out of Houston for $53.5M, or some $124k/unit. That price means the 431-unit multifamily complex off Lenox Road, built in 1961, which hit the market in May, fetched a sub-5% cap rate after a flood of interest from various parties. The property last traded in 2007 to LA-based Aslan Realty Group for $41.5M. ARA Newmark's Dan Phelan (here with his family), Bo Moore, John Weber, Bill Shippen and Chad Defoor brokered the sale.
Elite Street's David Whitby (here with his wife, Crystal) tells us that the firm—which makes its Atlanta debut with Metropolitan—has been shopping mainly for multifamily properties outside of Texas to diversify its holdings. The firm, which sources capital from Israel, is especially targeting both Atlanta and the Carolinas. “We're off and running to find the next deal. It's the first of many we hope to have in Atlanta,” David says.
Elite Street plans “significant” renovations over the next 18 to 24 months on the units, adding some amenities as well, in hopes of pushing rents from $1k/month to $1,400/month, David says. That's feeding into a twofold movement the firm sees: improving apartment fundamentals that show even older properties fetching higher rents, and the trend that has revealed that renters are willing to pay more for older apartments as long as units have been extensively renovated on the inside, David says. Also, so long “Metropolitan” as a name. Elite Street is rebranding the property as 32 Hundred Lenox.
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