Denver company enters Northwest Arkansas apartment market with $53.3 million deal

by Paul Gatling ([email protected]) 3,535 views 

A Denver-based real estate firm has entered the Arkansas market in a significant way, with a $53.3 million acquisition.

That’s the amount Cardinal Group Management (CGM) paid for Hill Place Apartments, a 42-acre student housing development in Fayetteville. The real estate deed was filed Friday (Feb. 24) at the Washington County Courthouse. The price equates to $185,173 per unit (288) and $63,488 per bedroom (840).

CGM made the purchase in the name of Cardinal Group Fayetteville I LLC.

Hill Place was owned previously by Blue Vista Capital Management LLC, a private equity real estate investment management firm in Chicago. The development was built in 2009 and includes 17 buildings. There are a variety of floor plans, and rent ranges from $500 to $600 per month per bed. That cost includes all utilities, cable and Internet access, and units are fully furnished.

Hill Place is situated southwest of the Hill Avenue/Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard intersection, less than a mile south of the University of Arkansas campus. The property represents CGM’s first acquisition in Arkansas. CGM is the property management business of Cardinal Group Cos., which also includes real estate investment and construction management components. CGM manages multifamily properties across the country, from apartments to student housing.

“We see Fayetteville as a good market with a strong university and good enrollment growth that has been sustained over time,” CGM Director of Acquisitions Jason Kosena told the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. “Hill Place is in really great condition, and the previous owners did a nice job of maintaining the property, but didn’t do a whole lot to improve it to 2017 specifications.”

Kosena said CGM will make a few cosmetic upgrades to the property but did not give a timeline. Hill Place Apartments is at about 94% occupancy, he said.