Canyon Creek Lands $10M Sale

TUCSON, AZ-A local buyer puts down $9.7 million for the 242-unit Canyon Creek apartments. The deal marks one of many in a wave of recent purchases for stabilized multifamily products that boast highoccupancies.”It was a real clean deal and had very good occupancy above the market, in the mid 90s,” Art Wadlund, a partner with Hendricks & Partners in Tucson, tells GlobeSt.com.The Canyon Creek deal never went to market, Wadlund says, instead being exclusively arranged for buyer HSL Properties of Tucson. Escrow lasted three months, with HSL assuming an existing loan provided by Southfield, MI-based EF&A Funding LLC at 7.13% due in 2011. The buyer met Murray, UT-based Bridge Partners’ original asking price, according to Wadlund.Located at 160 North Pantano Road, the Canyon Creek apartment community was built in 1985 and features 24 studio units, 86 one-bedroom units and 132 two-bedroom units. Rent hovers around $550 per month on average, adds Wadlund, with apartment sizes averagingapproximately 700 sf.HSL Properties’ gameplan for Canyon Creek is long term, says Wadlund. The stabilized property was picked up in good condition and furthermore necessitates no immediate improvements. The purchase brings to five the number of apartment properties the investor nowowns within a mile and a half of each other in East Tucson. Wadlund characterizes the local multifamily market as soft when compared to other property types, although he points out that it has more recentlyflourished in an upswing since bottoming out in 2003. Wadlund represented both parties in the transaction.