When The Preserve at Columbus Park, a 10-year-old apartment complex in Columbus, Georgia, sold in August, the transaction set the pace for multifamily sales in the market. By year-end, Ascent Residential's $71.6 million acquisition of the property at 5462 Whittlesey Blvd. ranked as the No. 1 apartment sale in 2022 based on overall price, according to CoStar data.
Montgomery, Alabama-based Ascent bought the leasehold interest in the 300-unit complex from TableRock Capital of California about 120 days after the property hit the market.
The magnitude of the deal and its ranking as the priciest apartment sale in Columbus last year earned it the 2023 CoStar Impact Award for the sale of the year in the Columbus market, as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
The Preserve at Columbus Park property is subject to a short-term ground lease with the Development Authority of Columbus that expires in 2030. Upon its expiration, it will convert to a fee-simple structure under which TableRock has complete and total ownership of the property.
The apartment complex was 97% occupied when the sale closed last summer.
About the project: Built in 2012, The Preserve at Columbus Park sits on nearly 29 acres zoned for planned-unit development. The complex contains 144 one-bedroom, 110 two-bedroom and 46 three-bedroom units. The sales price equated to an in-place anticipated annual yield of 3.71%.
What the judges said: "The sale of the Preserve at CPC was the largest sale in the market," said Shaun Roberts, a broker at NAI G2 Commercial.
Jacob Glover of Douglas Lane Real Estate Group said the deal presents an "opportunity for a well-positioned property to grow in a market that is climbing."
They made it happen: Taylor Bird, Nelson Abels and Laura Aylor of Cushman & Wakefield.