AvalonBay Buys Denver-Area Community for $91M

Ridge at Wheatlands. Image courtesy of NKF

AvalonBay Communities has purchased the Ridge at Wheatlands, a 338-unit luxury apartment community in Aurora, Colo., for $91.25 million, or $270,000 per unit. The developer, Grand Peaks, sold the property located at 6855 S. Langdale St. in a deal brokered by Newmark Knight Frank.

According to NKF’s research team, the per unit price of the sale marks a record high for the submarket of Aurora. The Class-A, resort-style community in suburban Denver was completed last year and is currently 72 percent occupied, according to Yardi Matrix data. The low-density property has units ranging from one- to three-bedrooms, with sizes averaging 934 square feet. Amenities include a fitness center, coffee bar, and clubhouse with a swim deck.

Tapping into a growing market

Grand Peaks was represented in the sale by NKF Vice Chairmen Shane Ozment and Terrance Hunt along with Executive Managing Director Chris Cowan. “Early on, Grand Peaks recognized the potential for a multifamily development in the rapidly expanding Southlands submarket as well as the opportunity to foster a unique live/work/play lifestyle,” commented Ozment in a prepared statement.

NKF observed that the population of the Southlands submarket grew by 95 percent from 2010 to 2018, boosted by an influx of well-educated young professionals. The area is best known for the Southlands Lifestyle Center, a large non-enclosed shopping mall situated 15 miles south of Denver International Airport.

AvalonBay Communities, which currently has a market cap of $27.8 billion, bought a 504-unit multifamily asset in Nanuet, N.Y. for $147 million in 2016.