By Jesse Wood
Jan. 28, 2015. A Cornelius-based private investment firm specializing in real estate enterprises purchased three student-housing developments in Boone for more than $20 million earlier this month, according to the parties involved in the transaction and documents filed with the Watauga County Register of Deeds.
NorthState Capital Partners announced today it purchased Highland Crossing, 204-bed community on N.C. 105 adjacent to the old Watauga High School; Greenway Commons, consisting of 84 beds near Winklers Creek Road and Deck Hill Road; and Greenway Cove, a 48-bed complex on Winklers Creek.
According to documents filed with the Watauga County Register of Deeds, the properties were purchased from Highland Crossing-B, LLC for $20,182,500 in early January by three separate LLCs: Mountaineer Crossing, LLC; Kuester-Greenway Company, LLC; and Greenway Cove, LLC.
The Highland Crossing development cost $12,910,000; the Greenway Commons development cost $4,628,000; and the Greenway Cove development cost $2,644,500.
Shane Buckner, a managing partner at NorthState Capital Partners, noted that the combined apartment units are currently 96 percent occupied, and another partner noted that the company is actively seeking to acquire additional properties in Boone and other markets in North Carolina and South Carolina.
“We really like the Boone market, which has significant barriers to entry for new development and we believe these three properties are positioned favorably within that market,” said David Dupree, a managing partner at NorthState Capital Partners, in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Greensboro-based Burkely Communities announced that it had sold the Highland Crossing development on N.C. 105 to NorthState Capital Partners, but it didn’t note that it sold the other two properties.
Burkely Communities’ CEO Jay Robinson said that after completing the Highland Crossing development in 2013, the company realized that “market conditions in Boone were favorable for a sale or partnership.”
“The market’s positive response to Highland Crossing made it apparent that a sale was an attractive option. A lot of great people have worked on this project and are pleased with the outcome,” Robinson said in a release.
The NorthState Capital release noted that Highland Crossing has about 7,500 square feet of vacant, ground-floor retail space. In 2012, building plans included more than 10,000 square feet of retail space – including a free-standing retail building closer to the highway.
In 2013, a representative for Mountaineer Crossing appeared before the Boone Town Council to request an extension on the phasing of the retail space because of the “extraordinary amount of rain” the High Country saw that summer.
In the past month, a “Goodwill Coming Soon” banner was swaying in the wind on the property above the N.C. 105. In November, a representative of Mountaineer Crossing appeared before the Boone Town Council to request a “slight site plan change” in order for the parcel to be developed by Goodwill, according to meeting minutes.
Bucker of NorthState said that Goodwill purchased a parcel of property on the original development before the recent acquisition.
As for what businesses or industries might occupy the vacant, ground-level retail space at Highlands Crossing, Buckner said, “We are not in a position to name any specific tenants at this point, but we expect some professional type businesses to occupy part of the commercial space. [It] will likely have a mixture of businesses and industries.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.