L5 Sets Sights on Kansas City

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

L5 Investments has snapped up an asset in the thriving Kansas City, Mo., apartment market. The investment firm acquired Whispering Lake Apartments, a 334-unit property, from MMA Capital Management.

Whispering Lake is a garden-style community that first opened its doors to residents in 1989, offering rental units in 17 structures. With the address of 10415 E. 43rd St., the property sits roughly 10 miles outside of the city’s downtown area.

Kansas City may not be a top-tier city, but its apartment market is as hot as those in some of the country’s leading metropolises. Demand in Kansas City outpaced supply during the first quarter of the year, edging the occupancy level up to 94.8 percent and prompting apartment operators to push rents up nearly 1 percent, according to MPF Research. Their figures investors looking at Whispering Lake couldn’t resist.

Marcus & Millichap marketed the apartment complex on MMA’s behalf and saw no shortage of interest from the investment community. The commercial real estate investment services firm reeled in 138 registered bidders for the property and after receiving 18 initial offers, ended up with 11 best and final offers. The fact that four of those final proposals contained immediate nonrefundable deposits further attests to the high level of interest among the hopeful buyers. Ultimately, the transaction closed at a cap rate of 5.43 percent.

L5 plans to invest $1.7 million in a renovation program at Whispering Lake.