Most of Tempe condo project is acquired

A manager of a San Diego-based real-estate-investment fund said it has purchased the bulk of a four-story, residential and retail condominium project built in 2007 near Arizona State University in Tempe.

The investment firm, Pathfinder Partners LLC, said Monday that it paid the original developer $11.3 million for Dorsey Place, 1275 E. University Drive, in Tempe.

The deal excluded six condo units the developer already had sold to individuals, said Pathfinder partner Lorne Polger, who co-founded the company with Mitch Siegler in 2006.

Dorsey Place sits on roughly 1.4 acres and consists of 90 residential units and one retail space totaling about 6,500 square feet.

According to documents on file with Tempe, the project's original developer was William Bannister and it was approved by the city in 2005.

Pathfinder officials said the project's original development cost was $23 million - more than twice what Pathfinder paid in the deal announced Monday. The six individual condo-unit owners paid in excess of $400,000 each for their condos, the company added.

Polger said Pathfinder intends to lease out the remaining 84 residential units as apartments with minimum lease terms of 12 months.

About half are furnished and had been made available for short-term rental by the original developer, he said.

Pathfinder also plans to find a commercial tenant for the retail space, which never has been occupied, Polger said.

Dorsey Place is Pathfinder's first acquisition in Arizona. The company specializes in buying distressed, multifamily properties. Polger said the firm is about to announce a second acquisition in Mesa.

by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Jul. 18, 2011 03:51 PM




Most of Tempe condo project is acquired