Landmark Apartment Trust of America acquires two new multi-family properties

There’s no question that Landmark Apartment Trust of America Inc. (LATA) is on a growth surge.  In the last six months, the Richmond-based multifamily real estate investment trust (REIT) has purchased more than 20 properties, hired additional staff and secured a new credit facility with a borrowing capacity of $130 million.

Tuesday brought the announcement of its latest acquisition: two multifamily properties located in Dallas and Nashville, Tenn., for about $33.5 million.  LATA said the properties, containing 454 units, are 94 percent occupied.

“Our continued expansion in Dallas and Nashville adhere with our strategy to grow our portfolio in core Southern markets that boast attractive economic and demographic fundamentals,” CEO Stanley J. Olander said in a statement.

LATA officials have been saying publicly that the acquisitions are part of an overall business plan to grow the company’s portfolio. The plan began in August 2012 when the REIT announced a major recapitalization transaction with Florida-based Elco Landmark Residential Holdings LLC and its affiliates, DeBartolo Development, Florida Value Funds and other investors.

The deal brought the company a portfolio of 21 apartment communities, valued at $485 million, in exchange for $187 million of partnership interests in what was then Apartment Trust of America Inc. As part of the transaction, it added Landmark to its name, and some Landmark executives joined the company’s board.

In the transaction announced Tuesday, LATA acquired Landmark at Preston Wood, a 194-unit apartment community in Richardson, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. In a separate transaction, it also purchased Landmark at Lyncrest Reserve, a 260-unit apartment community in Nashville.

With these properties, LATA said in a news release that its portfolio now boasts 14 apartment communities in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. Altogether, it owns and operates more than 16,928 apartment units, and provides management services for an additional 13,667 units owned by affiliates, located throughout the Southern United States.

The REIT was founded in 2005. Its headquarters office is located on Dickens Road.

Before becoming CEO of LATA, Olander worked for Grubb & Ellis until November 2010. He was the CEO, president and chairman of Grubb & Ellis Residential Management, Inc. He also was executive vice president, Multifamily Division, of Grubb & Ellis Co.

From 1996, until joining Grubb & Ellis in April 2005, Olander was president, CFO and a member of the board of directors of Cornerstone Realty Income Trust Inc., a Richmond-based public REIT he helped found. Cornerstone owned more than 23,000 apartment units and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of approximately $1.5 billion before it was acquired by Birmingham, Ala.- based Colonial Properties Trust for just over $600 million in 2004.