Collins Group buys apartment portfolio.

Ari Parnes, managing director of Collins Group LLC, announced the group's acquisition of three Alabama communities from Colonial Properties Trust.

The 2,284-unit Colonial Properties Portfolio in Birmingham and Huntsville was a boon of some $155 million. GE Capital provided financing. New Jersey-based Lightstone Group participated as a joint venture investor.

The three garden apartment communities, Birmingham's 1,080-unit Colonial Grand at Galleria and its 468-unit sister community Colonial Grand at Riverchase, and 768-unit Colonial Village at Research Park in Huntsville, bring Collins' total Alabama portfolio to almost 7,000 units. Collins acquired the 2,331-unit Alabama Portfolio from Landmark Properties Trust earlier this season in a much-lauded $138-million deal, the largest single multifamily deal in Alabama history.

Since entering the Birmingham market in 2001, Collins has grown to become one of the largest landlords in the state of Alabama. "The Colonial Properties portfolio brings Collins' Alabama portfolio to a total value of almost $500 million," said Parnes.

"(The Colonial Portfolio) are class-A properties, real trophy assets in a growing market," remarked Jay Herman, vice president of acquisitions, on the deal.

"The sought-after communities all average at over 95% occupancy and feature amenities packages placing them at their top of their class."

"Collins remains bullish on the Southeast, into 2007 and beyond," said Parnes. Collins is already scheduled to close on a $60 million deal with Wilkinson Properties to acquire their 1,166 unit Knoxville Portfolio before the end of the month, and recently closed on a 734-unit deal in Atlanta.

"Engel Realty's Hubert Goings, Jr. and William Butler really facilitated this deal with their professionalism," noted Parnes.