Downtown OKC investments credited for record apartment sale

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Downtown revitalization spurred by Oklahoma City’s MAPS initiatives helped pave the way for a record-breaking sale of the Avana Arts District apartment complex last week, said one of the brokers who handled the deal.

Avana Arts District, a 303-unit multifamily property at 301 N. Walker Ave., sold for $58.9 million, or $194,389 per unit, to Washington-based Weidner Apartment Homes. The seller was South Carolina-based Greystar, which had purchased the property in 2013 for what was then a city record-breaking $161,000 per unit.

Newmark Knight Frank Multifamily Oklahoma senior managing directors Tim McKay, Justin Wilson and Brandon Lamb, along with associates Ted Prince and Ben McKay, handled the transaction.

“MAPS has transformed this city,” said McKay. “With the passage of MAPS 4 last December, voters again stood up to invest in the city, which benefits citizens, property owners and visitors. Further investment downtown only makes properties like Avana even more desirable to renters who truly want to live an urban lifestyle in the middle of a bustling city.”

Avana is the 13th property Weidner has purchased in Oklahoma. Weidner now owns and manages more than 5,000 multifamily units in the state. Nationwide, Weidner’s portfolio includes 279 multifamily communities and more than 56,000 apartments in 12 states. Greg Cerbana, vice president of public relations for Weidner, said the acquisition demonstrates the company’s commitment to the Oklahoma market, and agreed that the development spurred by MAPS played a role in the purchase.

“We are encouraged by the emphasis that is being put on downtown revitalization efforts,” said Cerbana. “The coordination of and commitment to these types of urban renewal projects is something we don’t see in many other cities and makes capital investments in multifamily projects much more attractive. We believe that these will only continue to make Oklahoma City a great place to live, work and play and are excited to be a part of the dynamic Oklahoma landscape.”

Avana is within walking distance of the Civic Center Music Hall – a facility that was upgraded with funding from Oklahoma City’s first MAPS initiative, passed in 1993 – and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and is close by new and continued developments at Film Row and Midtown. The property is just a block away from a streetcar line created with MAPS 3 funds.

The property was originally called Legacy at Arts Quarter, built in 2007 on Urban Renewal land by Mike Henderson. At the time, it was one of the first multifamily construction projects to be built downtown since the 1980s. The property was sold in 2008 to Illinois-based Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. for $122,772 per unit.

Greystar purchased the property from Inland as part of a portfolio of properties that included Legacy Woods in Edmond, Legacy Corner in Midwest City and Legacy Crossing in Oklahoma City. The total four properties sold for $151 million, making it one of the largest deals of 2013. Greystar changed the name to Avana Arts District.

The location and quality of the asset generated a great deal of interest from investors, said McKay.

“The value-add potential at the property is tremendous,” said McKay. “It was built to the highest standards and features large unit sizes, especially for a downtown property. While it’s still very nice on the inside, there is real potential to invest in upgrades to each unit and see the return in more attractive rents for the buyer.”