Greystar Acquires Plymouth Apartment Complex for $55M; Lyndale Garden Project Marks Milestone, but Doubts Linger

By Camelia Bulea, Associate Editor

Greystar Real Estate Partners has acquired Park Place Apartments in Plymouth in a $54.7 million deal. Although the Charleston, S.C.-based company manages five other residential complexes in the Twin Cities, the acquisition of the 500-unit, 26-year-old complex marks its first investment in the market, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported. Greystar outbid 15 or so other investors to buy the property. The complex’s previous owner, Dallas-based Park Place Portfolio Inc., had acquired Park Place Apartments for $51.8 million in 2005.

In other news, development of the 120-unit multi-family project on the Lyndale Garden Center site in Richfield has achieved a major milestone with approval of city funding support. The Richfield City Council voted to establish to establish a 25-year tax increment financing district for the site, which would allow the city to partially subsidize the development, according to the Star Tribune.

Although the city council backs the redevelopment of the Lyndale Garden site, which has remained vacant for five years, some officials question whether the developer has the financial wherewithal to complete the project. The Business Journal reported that Cornerstone has so far identified only half the financing for the site’s $3.6 million purchase price.