November 4, 2009
Olympus Buys Again, Acquires in PHX
By Amy Wolff Sorter

PHOENIX-Less than two weeks after adding the 400-unit Westchase Forest in Houston [http:///news/1523_1523/houston/181791-1.html] to its portfolio, Olympus Properties strikes again. The company made its first area buy, claiming the 316-unit Crossroads Apartments for $9.8 million from Apartment Investment and Management Co.
Olympus Properties principal Chandler Wonderly tells GlobeSt.com that the class B complex at 2222 W Beardsley Rd. was the perfect vehicle with which to enter the Phoenix market. "We'd always wanted to get into Phoenix, but the market was so overheated in 2006 and 2007," he explains. "We've just been waiting for the right time."

Built in 1982, Crossroads Apartments is 92% occupied. The complex offers one-, two- and three-unit apartments, at an average size of 641 square feet. The rent averages to about $.87 per square foot.

Wonderly says Denver, CO-based AIMCO did a wonderful job of maintaining the complex, so no upgrades are needed at present. Jack Hannum with Transwestern's Phoenix office brokered the transaction.

Olympus Properties is so serious about buying in Phoenix, it's hired Marc Olivieri, formerly of Virtue Investments, to be the feet on the ground in the area. Wonderly says Phoenix is appealing because it's a city that is pro-growth.

And Phoenix is a part of Olympus Properties' overall strategy to boost its portfolio from the current 4,200 units to between 6,000 and 7,000 units by the end of 2010. Wonderly says the company will examine anything that makes sense economically. Though some offers have been made in other markets, nothing else is close to closing right now, he adds.

"We're conservative when it comes to investing," he adds. "We must be doing something right; all of our properties have a great cash flow."