Multifamily housing is booming

By Micah Gamino

Published: April 15, 2008

EDMOND — Plans for several new apartment and condominium projects in the Edmond area this year have city officials and real estate firms touting the health of Edmond's multifamily housing market.

William Forrest, first vice president of CB Richard Ellis-Oklahoma, who has researched Edmond's multifamily housing market, has even gone so far as to call 2008 the biggest year the market has seen.

"It's a very active year for new construction,” Forrest, said. "It's the most units coming online in any year that affects the Edmond market.”

Forrest said multifamily developers have become increasingly attracted to the Edmond market because of its impressive occupancy rate over the years.

"It's been around 95 percent occupied for over 10 years,” Forrest said. "It's hard to do any better than that.”

Janet Yowell, director of the Edmond Economic Development Authority, said the many new projects will help the city fill a strong need.

"Whether it is the Bryant Place apartments filling a large demand for student housing, or The Enclave, included in a larger planned unit development, Edmond is seeing an increased demand for and interest in this living choice,” Yowell said.

Edmond's new multifamily projects include:

•Bryant Place, 1600 Kickingbird Road

Nine three-story apartment buildings are under construction on a $17 million property on the southeast corner of Bryant Avenue and Kickingbird Road in Edmond.

Jessica Nix, spokeswoman for Georgia-based Place Properties LLC, said the apartments are being built to serve University of Central Oklahoma students.

Once complete, there will be 108 units with 432 separate bedrooms — actually small studio apartments containing one bedroom and a bathroom. Each "bedroom” is being leased individually.

About 65 percent of the property has been preleased, Nix said. The complex is scheduled to open Aug. 13.

•Arbor Place, Kickingbird Road, east of Bryant.

Place Properties LLC also has its sights set on a 22- to 25-acre property at the end of Kickingbird Road where officials say they may build a phase two to Bryant Place.

Ryan Griffis, development manager for Place Development, an arm of Place Properties, said the company is considering a $21 million project to build on the $3.15 million section of land. The design calls for 15 buildings containing 168 units.

Griffis said the company is seeking to get a section of the property rezoned before building begins. The company is scheduled to appear before the Edmond City Planning Commission on April 22, City Planner Bob Schiermeyer said.

•The Enclave Apartments, 1201 Covell Village Drive.

Indianapolis-based SC Bodner Company Inc. plans to build a four-story, hotel-like building on the southwest corner of Covell Road and Kelly Avenue inside the 160-acre Covell Village mixed-use development. The building will have luxury apartments.

The overall cost of The Enclave project is $14.5 million, said Shannon Sorrells, SC Bodner spokeswoman.

Sorrells said vertical construction at the site will begin in May. The projected completion date is spring 2009.

•Spring Creek of Edmond, 777 E 15 St.

This 14-acre apartment complex property changed ownership in January. WC/TP Spring Creek LLC bought the 253,000 square foot property from Brentwood Forest Apartments Associates LLC for about $8.5 million.

Tom Williams, a partner with Dallas-based Willmax Capital Inc., the parent company of Spring Creek LLC, said his company plans to invest at least $1 million to renovate the complex's 24 apartment buildings during the next 24 months.

Renovations will include various interior upgrades in the 252 units, new roofing, siding, windows and doors, as well as new landscaping and irrigation.

•The Falls — Second Street and Vista Lane.

A plan by Oxford Development Corp. Inc. to build 300 luxury condominiums near the northeast side of Hafer Park on Second Street, east of Vista Lane, has run into a variety of problems during the past year, including erosion and storm water protection problems.

Calls to Oxford Development about the project were not returned. Schiermeyer said the company has not presented the city with any detailed construction plans or acquired any building permits. Schiermeyer said he thinks the project won't be complete until sometime next year.

•Fountain Lake — on Boulevard two blocks north of Memorial Road.

Tulsa-based Case & Associates has plans to build 19 apartment buildings with 302 units on 14 acres near the old Lions Fun Park site on Boulevard north of Memorial Road. This site is just outside the Edmond city limits but within the Edmond school district and considered part of the city's multifamily housing market by area real estate professionals.

Tim Case, vice president of multifamily development for Case & Associates, said construction should begin May 1.

Case said seven of the 19 buildings will be garage apartments. He said the architecture will be similar to Villas at Stonebridge to the north. Case also said if Fountain Lake leases well the company would consider a phase two to add more apartment buildings on the property.

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