Property: Radius Apartments
Address: 936 Signal Mountain Road
Price: $32 million
Buyer: Covenant Capital Group
One of the oldest major apartment complexes along Mountain Creek Road is getting a new look and name after being bought by a Nashville real estate firm making its third apartment purchase in the area in as many years.
The Radius Apartments, a complex of nearly 30 two-story buildings originally built in 1972 near what is now the Red Bank Elementary School, was recently acquired by Covenant Capital Group for $32 million, or $107,744 per apartment unit. The new owners have renamed the facility "Ascent at Signal Mountain" and have begun renovating most of the 296 units to update the apartments with granite-style countertops, wood-style floors, new wall paintings and other upgrades to make the units more energy efficient.
"We like Chattanooga as a market with very stable and continued job growth and we especially like the Mountain Creek Road area at the foot of Signal Mountain," said Govan White, managing partner for Covenant Capital who helped establish the real estate investment fund. "We also think this is a great property with a beautiful location next to Signal Mountain."
The complex includes one,- two- and three-bedroom apartments and also includes a swimming pool, tennis courts, dog park and clubhouse. The apartments rent from $899 for a one-bedroom unit up to $1,599 for a three-bedroom unit, according to Bevan Adam, the assistant manager for the hotel. The apartment complex is currently 98% leased.
The RADCO Cos. in Atlanta sold the Radius Apartments after revamping the complex with new building exteriors and community amenities.
"Radius Mountain Creek was one of the most exciting community transformations RADCO has undertaken," said Norman Radow, CEO of the RADCO Companies. "It earned us a great local reputation as we wiped away nearly 50 years of bad architecture and created a modern clean look, with state-of-the-art amenities on an absolutely beautiful campus."
Nashville-based Covenant Capital Group, formed in 2001, seeks to revitalize and extend the life of apartments in growing southeastern and mid-Attic markets, White said. Over the past three and a half years, the company also acquired the nearby Views of Signal Mountain as well as the Grove at Hickory Valley.
"Chattanooga is a strong market and still competitively priced," White said.
Even with the addition of thousands of new multi-family units in Hamilton County over the past five years, existing apartment complexes in Chattanooga have attracted more than $250 million of investments from real estate investors outside of the market in just the past year and a half.
Earlier this year, a Birmingham, Alabama-based company, StoneRiver Co., sold the 280-unit Rise at Signal Mountain apartment complex across the street on Mountain Creek Road from the Ascent at Signal for $30 million.
The sale of the Radius Apartments is the fifth multi-family complex to sell for $30 million or more in the past year, according to property records filed with the Hamilton County Register of Deeds.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6340
Biggest apartment sales
In the past year, five apartment complexes sold for $30 million or more.1. The 283-unit Bluebird Row Apartments at the Chattanooga Choo Choo was sold to a San Francisco investment group, $63.15 million2. The 260-unit Hunters Point apartment complex at 7401 Allenmande Way in East Brainerd was sold to a California-based real estate investment firm for $35.8 million3. An investment group organized by The Shoptaw Group in Atlanta purchased The Shallowford Apartment Homes with 252 apartments in East Brainerd for $32 million.4. The 296-unit Radius Apartments on Mountain Creek Road was acquired by the Covenant Capital Group for $32 million.5. A Birmingham, Alabama-based real estate investment firm bought the 280-unit Rise at Signal Mountain apartment complex on Mountain Creek Road for $30 million.Source: Hamilton County Register of Deeds