William Lyon Homes Inc. Acquires Village Homes

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

William Lyon Homes Inc. recently announced that it has entered the Colorado market after acquiring various entities under the Village Homes name in the Denver metro, Fort Collins, and Granby markets.

Speaking of the deal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer General William Lyon, said: “The successful completion of this acquisition is another major accomplishment, which will help William Lyon Homes continue to grow as a leader in the homebuilding industry. Village Homes and its employees have developed an excellent reputation for quality and service, and we welcome them to the William Lyon family.”

Established in 1984, Village Homes has been a developer and builder of move-up homes, selling over 10,000 homes in the Denver area in the past 25 years. Currently operating five actively selling communities, the company owns and controls over 700 residential lots. Village Homes’ backlog of homes sold but not yet closed, at the time of acquisition, was around $34 million. The average selling price for 2012 year-to-date was approximately $380,000.

“The acquisition of Village Homes caps a year of growth and change at William Lyon Homes,” said Executive Vice President Matthew R. Zaist. “The Company has seen an inflow of over $125 Million in new equity and continued growth in operating margins and market share in each of our core markets. Our recent capital markets transaction completed in November resulted in the sale of $325 million of unsecured bonds, which the Company used to refinance our existing secured debt.”

J. Eric Eckberg, president of Village Homes, will continue to oversee the operations of Village Homes and will report to executive vice president of William Lyon Homes Inc., Matthew R. Zaist. Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher served as special counsel to William Lyon Homes Inc. on the transaction, while Houlihan Lokey served as special advisors to the company’s executive management team and board of directors.

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Image Courtesy of: www.villagehomes.com

Urban Land Conservancy Acquires Villas at Wadsworth Station

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

The Urban Land Conservancy recently announced the acquisition of The Villas at Wadsworth Station—a 100-unit rental property in Lakewood, Colo. Located at 1330-1337 Yukon St. near the Wadsworth Light Rail Station, the property was purchased with the support of a $5.6 million loan from Citywide Banks and a $1.3 million low-interest loan from the Colorado Housing Investment Fund. The latter is the first loan made by the $13.2 million CHIF, funded through the $51.75 million mortgage servicing and foreclosure processing settlement recovered earlier this year by the state’s Attorney General.

Chris Cerveny, senior vice president of Citywide Banks, said in a statement: “As a locally owned bank, Citywide Banks is proud to support Urban Land Conservancy’s ongoing efforts to preserve real estate in our community.”

Through the acquisition, the Urban Land Conservancy aims to preserve workforce housing near public transportation. The housing preservation of The Villas represents the organization’s largest real estate transaction and first acquisition in Lakewood. The organization is partnering with Rocky Mountain Communities and Colorado Resources & Housing Development Corporation in the management and eventual transfer of property ownership.

The Villas include a community facility and two apartment buildings constructed in 1971. The Urban Land Conservancy paid $7 million for the property to G&S Investors LaSalle LLC. The Villas features one- and two-bedroom apartments and will be managed by Rocky Mountain Communities, which will partner with CRHDC to secure financing to acquire the property from the Urban Land Conservancy sometime between 2014 and 2015.

“It is critical to preserve quality workforce housing at transit sites during the build out of FasTracks, providing residents with access to transit, increased opportunity for jobs and additional income for an improved quality of life,” said Aaron Miripol, president and CEO of ULC. “ULC is proud to partner with Citywide Banks, the State Division of Housing, and two regional housing nonprofits who share our vision of providing these opportunities for the long term.”

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Photo Courtesy of: www.villalasalleapartments.com

Ground Broken on 281-Unit Luxury Apartment Community

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Wood Partners recently announced that it has broken ground on a new 281-unit luxury apartment community in the Union Station neighborhood of Denver. Located at 1801 Chestnut St., the five-story Alta City House will be constructed west of Denver’s iconic train station at 17th and Wynkoop streets.

Opened in 1881, Union Station is the centerpiece of a 12-block redevelopment initiative that anchors a modern transit hub surrounded by retail space, restaurants, residential space and public plazas and gardens.

“Alta City House is going up in one of the most exciting urban living-working-entertainment centers in the country,” said Tim McEntee, Wood Partners director. “With over six modes of transportation—from light rail to bike paths—and access to three pro sports venues, 1,200 restaurants and bars, and one of the largest arts complexes in the nation, Alta City House could hardly be better positioned.”

Alta City House will occupy a full block—just less than three acres—between 18th and 19th streets and Chestnut. The apartment building will feature 183 one-bedroom units ranging in size from 645 to 825 square feet, 90 two-bedroom units ranging from 991 to 1,227 square feet, and eight three-bedroom, 1,300-square-foot units.

Rent is expected to average over $2 per square foot, and around 1.7 parking spaces per unit are planned by the developer. The amenities will include a rooftop deck with an outdoor kitchen, fireplace and swimming pool; a dog wash; bicycle repair shop; two-story fitness center; and two-story club room.

The developer of Riverfront Park and the Union Station District, Wood Partners and East West Partners obtained some of the financing required for the project from USAA Real Estate Company. Construction is expected to be completed in the next 18 to 24 months.

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Holliday Fenoglio Fowler Arranges Acquisition Financing for Southlands Town Center

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. has arranged acquisition financing for Southlands Town Center—a mixed-use property in Aurora, Colo. Working on behalf of Northwood Investors LLC, the HFF team led by Managing Director Travis Anderson and Senior Managing Director Eric Tupler placed the five-year loan with CIBC World Markets.

Located at 6155 S. Main St. in Denver’s Aurora suburb, Southlands Town Center is an outdoor lifestyle center that features 730,000 square feet of retail space and 170,000 square feet of office space. The center’s four-block main street and community plaza are surrounded by retailers and restaurants, including AMC Theaters, Barnes & Noble, Ted’s Montana Grill and American Eagle Outfitters. Designed by Callison Architects, Southlands Town Center opened its first store in 2005 and currently has over 100 retailers and restaurants.

Northwood Investors, a privately-held global real estate firm with over $2 billion of real estate assets, was founded in 2006 and invests in various real estate assets worldwide, including office buildings, shopping centers, hotels and residential investments.

John Kukral, president and CEO of Northwood Investors LLC, said: “We are pleased to make our first investment in Colorado and excited about the long term prospects in the region. This acquisition demonstrates our commitment to retail excellence, and we hope to further build upon the quality retailers and restaurants currently established in the center.”

Northwood Retail, a subsidiary of Northwood Investors that leases and manages the firm’s retail portfolio, will lease and manage Southlands Town Center.

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IBC Holdings LLC Acquires 1.2 Million-Sq.-Ft. Building in Westminster

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

IBC Holdings LLC has acquired a 1.2 million-square-foot building in Westminster, Colo. Located at the intersection of 120th Street and I-25 on 105 acres, the purchase includes 200,000 square feet of high bay bulk distribution space, 700,000 square feet of light industrial/flex space and 300,000 square feet of office space.

The transaction, which closed on November 19, was a joint venture with Boston-based private equity real estate manager Long Wharf Real Estate Partners LLC. The deal included the associated parking structures and around 40 acres of developable land area.

Jason Addlesperger and Dave Lee of Newmark Knight Frank represented both the buyer and seller. IBC Managing Director Brian C. Mott said the company plans to reposition the property and target bulk warehouse, light industrial/flex and office users. The repositioning plan includes the demolition of around 400,000 square feet of the existing industrial building. The plan also includes the renaming of the property to Park 12 Hundred.

“This acquisition is representative of our strategy of purchasing well-located properties in strong markets across the U.S. with what we believe is tremendous intrinsic value,” said Sujit Sitole, director at Long Wharf Real Estate Partners. “The opportunity to acquire this property—given its location, the existing buildings and the land—we felt was especially attractive.”

The property, which was an Avaya (formerly Lucent Technologies) research and development facility, was originally built in 1970 by Western Electric. At its peak, Avaya employed 5,000 people at the communications systems manufacturing facility and will continue to occupy approximately 10 percent of the building.

“This is a prominent Westminster facility in a great location very close to a range of retail amenities and adjacent to one of Denver’s largest park-and-ride locations,” Mott said. “When complete, It will offer modern specification facilities to a wide range of industrial and office users. Additionally, we are considering adding a multifamily component and additional industrial buildings with frontage on Huron and Pecos streets at some point in the future.”

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Photo Courtesy of: www.axiaconstruction.com