Patience isn’t always a virtue in commercial real estate, but it paid off for investor T.E. Miller Development Co. of Eden Prairie, Minn.
Miller bided its time — 24 years, to be exact — before selling the 312-unit Sienna Place apartments in Colorado Springs for a healthy profit. That’s a long ownership tenure in an industry where some properties change hands every couple of years.
Miller acquired the complex in 1991 for $4.9 million. It recently sold the property for $19.35 million — a gain of 295 percent. Even adjusting for inflation, Miller more than doubled its initial investment.
The buyer was ALTA Community Investments, based in Westlake Village, Calif.
Sale brokers Bill Morkes and Craig Stack of Colliers International Denver said investors increasingly are targeting Colorado Springs because it is perceived as a better value than metro Denver’s pricey apartment sector.
“Colorado Springs is a market that’s drawing attention from investment groups searching for multifamily property in Colorado with better initial yields than those available further north,” Morkes said.
