An investment firm controlled by Atlanta-based multifamily firm Carroll has picked up three local apartment properties for $220M.

The firm's Carroll Multifamily Venture VI fund purchased The Cascade at Morgan Falls, The Fountains at Morgan Falls and The Columns at Bentley Manor, adding nearly 1,600 units to the company's portfolio. All three will be rebranded under Carroll's “Arium” banner, according to a press release, including The Cascade and The Fountains, which are next door to each other in Sandy Springs and will be combined into a single property.

The Columns is a 418-unit garden-style apartment in Marietta, near The Battery Atlanta. Carroll expects to spend $30M on overhauling each of the properties, including on amenity spaces and unit interiors, officials said.

Carroll declined to name the apartment buildings' sellers. Atlanta-based Cobb-Bentley Associates sold The Columns for $56M, according to the local real estate transaction tracking firm Databank. LCOR was listed as the previous owner for the two Morgan Falls apartments.

These are the latest investments in Atlanta's multifamily market, which has bounced back from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic. While 4,100 new apartment units were delivered in the metro area during the third quarter, more than 8,500 were newly leased, according to data compiled by Berkadia.

On top of that, investment activity also surged. Some $1.6B in apartment sales posted during the third quarter, according to CoStar. While that is down year-over-year from $2.4B, activity substantially improved from the second quarter, when only $442M in apartments traded hands.

“At Carroll, we believe in the long-term demand for each of these locations due to their relative affordability, proximity to local freeways and employment hubs, good schools, and the fundamentals of Atlanta’s strong, diversified economy, which has been highlighted by its resiliency through the pandemic,” Carroll Vice President Casey Barber said in a statement. “We’re always looking to invest in active, growing areas with good macroeconomic tailwinds, and believe these communities strongly deliver.”