Republic Westbridge LP, a limited partnership that is affiliated with Toronto-based Republic Funds, bought more apartments in Little Rock last month.
Republic Westbridge paid $5 million for the Westbridge Apartments at 2123 Labette Manor Drive and 2124 Labette Manor Drive near the Twin Lakes subdivision off John Barrow Road.
Republic Funds has invested more than $30 million in Pulaski County apartment complexes with almost 1,000 units in recent months.
The other apartments Republic Funds acquired are the 120-unit Wilmington Apartments in North Little Rock for $4.9 million, the 205-unit Terra Vista Apartments for $3.3 million and the combination of Spanish Rock and Spanish Jon apartments for a total of $17 million. Spanish Rock and Spanish Jon, both in Little Rock, have a combined 482 units.
Westbridge, with 180 units, was built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was valued at almost $11 million in its last appraisal.
Republic Funds advises Republic Residential Fund III LP on acquisitions, Jeff Baryshnik, president of Republic Funds, said. Republic Fund III has acquired more than 4,000 apartment suites across the South in the past two years, Baryshnik said.
"We continue to look at potential acquisitions and hope to acquire more properties in Arkansas," Baryshnik said. "We have spent most of our time in the Little Rock area but we are also looking at other [Arkansas] markets."
Nationally, there is significant demand for multifamily housing, which pushes up the price for apartment complexes, said Ted Bailey III, an owner of The Multifamily Group, which closely follows the Pulaski County apartment market.
"When there is a lot of demand, values are going to go up," Bailey said. "It's a good time to be a seller. But buyers can buy and get good [interest] rates. Interest rates are very attractive."
STARBUCKS BUY
Rodney Parham 9401 LLC, a limited liability company, paid $1.3 million last month for the building and property of a Starbucks on Rodney Parham Road in west Little Rock.
The property was last sold for $906,000 in 2010. It was last appraised at $920,000.
The restaurant has almost 1,750 square feet. It was built in 2007.
The company financed the purchase with a mortgage of $956,000 from City National Bank of Florida.
The limited liability company is based in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The deal was the first investment in Arkansas for Thomas Swirbel, president of Rodney Parham 9401 LLC and manager of its parent company, Deerpath Enterprises Inc. Swirbel also has investments in Florida and Pennsylvania.
"It's a good deal and it fits into our portfolio," Swirbel said of the Starbucks site. "And Starbucks is obviously a high-quality tenant."
He realized recently with Hurricane Irma that geographic diversification is a good thing, Swirbel said.
"It wasn't that I was targeting Arkansas," Swirbel said. "But when I looked at the price point and the quality of the property, it just seemed to be a good match."
Swirbel's plan is to keep the property for the long term, he said.
GALLOWAY LAND
TQ Real Estate LLC, a Tennessee firm, bought 4 undeveloped acres at Kinard and Valentine roads in North Little Rock near Interstate 40 at Galloway.
TQ Real Estate paid Krishana LLC $900,000 for the land last month.
Regions Bank established a $91 million credit agreement with TQ Real Estate as well as Tennessee Quality LLC, Louisiana Quality LLC, Mirabile Investment Corp. and LQ Real Estate.
TQ Real Estate is affiliated with Cambridge Franchise Holdings of Bartlett, Tenn. Ray Meeks is chief executive officer of Cambridge and also president of TQ Real Estate.
Meeks didn't return a phone call seeking comment about the transaction.
Cambridge Franchise Holdings operates more than 124 restaurants and is one of the largest and fastest growing Burger King franchisees in the country, according to its website.
SundayMonday Business on 10/22/2017