Roers Companies recently closed on its $29 million sale of Maven Apartments in Burnsville, Minnesota. The 137-unit community was the first new apartment development in Burnsville in 14 years, and its novelty proved successful in attracting renters.
The lease-up timeline for Maven Apartments took just four months. The community achieved stable occupancy with 95 percent of the units rented 11 months ahead of the firm’s schedule. When the first residents moved in on April 15, 2020, Maven was already 61 percent pre-leased.
Ted Abramson, Keith Collins, and Abe Appert from CBRE Minneapolis Multifamily represented the seller in this transaction
Despite opening its doors in the early days of Minnesota’s COVID-19 lockdown, the property saw a steady stream of interest and applications. Prospective renters had multiple options to tour the property once in-person activities were restricted. Some saw the property in 1:1 video calls with the leasing team. Many watched a YouTube walk-through video, while others explored the model apartment using interactive 360-degree virtual tours on the Maven website.
“Our team could not be prouder of Maven’s lease-up. Back in March, we were concerned about the impact COVID-19 would have on the property’s leasing trajectory, but it was clear that building the right product in the right location at the right price put us in a great position for continued success,” said Brian Roers, co-owner of Roers Companies.
Interest in Maven was so high, the property filled at a record pace without any rent concessions and at 10 percent higher rates than the team had underwritten. It is the fastest market-rate apartment development to achieve stable occupancy in Roers Companies’ history.
The stability and success of Maven led the buyer, Sage Properties, to inquire about the possibility of a sale. While Roers Companies typically prefers to hold its assets for many years, the company’s leadership team and investment partners couldn’t pass up the opportunity to secure an average investor return of 80 percent cash-on-cash.
“Our team is really proud of what we’ve been able to achieve for our investors,” said Roers Companies co-owner Kent Roers. “We work with private individuals to fund our projects, and it’s exciting for our local investors to achieve such an impressive return in an extremely short period of time.”
Maven’s 137 units include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. The community offers heated underground parking, an outdoor courtyard that includes an oversized chess installation and grills, a rooftop deck and lounge, a fitness room, pet washing station, storage lockers, coffee bar and access to the Burnsville Transit Station just outside the door.6
