Cocke Finkelstein Sets Foot in Michigan

By Keith Loria, Contributing Editor

Neil Herceg, Cocke Finkelstein

Cocke Finkelstein Inc. has acquired Ramblewood Apartments: Wyoming, a 1,710-unit, garden-style apartment community in Grand Rapids, Mich., for $100.4 million.

The property is the state’s third largest suburban apartment community and the acquisition marks CFI’s first entry into Michigan.

“The property is incredibly well leased in a market that has extremely high occupancy,” Neil Herceg, Cocke Finkelstein’s chief investment officer, told Commercial Property Executive. “We firmly believe in the continued growth of the Grand Rapids market. We feel that the market provides a great opportunity to generate extremely compelling risk adjusted returns, especially compared to other areas in the country.”

Located at 4277 Stonebridge Drive SW, the Ramblewood Apartments was built in phases between 1971 and 1983. It’s situated one mile east of Rivertown Crossings Shopping Center and half a mile east of the Bucktown Shopping Center.

The property consists of 1,710 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Community amenities include a community center with a year-round indoor pool, an outdoor pool with a sundeck, a tennis and health club with indoor and outdoor courts, basketball and volleyball courts, a playground, and a surrounding 188 acres of woods and a pond. There’s also a business office center, a sauna and a central dog park.

“This investment fits well within our philosophy of looking for dislocations in the market that provide for undervalued assets,” Herceg said. “With a property of this size, we will be investing capital to maintain and improve the property, helping to maximize its value.”

According to Herceg, significant capital will be invested to upgrade the grounds and exteriors of the buildings, as well as some of the systems.

CFI currently manages approximately 40,000 apartment units throughout the United States.

The property was 98 percent occupied at the time of the closing. CFLane, the apartment management subsidiary of CFI, will manage the community.