CEDAR FALLS, IA—Capstone Equity & Structured Finance has closed $9.9 million of joint venture equity to facilitate the acquisition and repositioning of Park @ Nine23: a large, value-add apartment community in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Built in three phases, the 424-unit asset is situated on 21.2 acres with a mix of conventional market-rate, LURA, and HUD age-restricted units.

The Capstone Equity & Structured Finance team was led by Bryse Toothaker and Charlie Rimkus, who raised the equity on behalf of the sponsor, Chicago-based ARTISAN Capital Group (ACG).

ACG, who has a second office in Des Moines and a strong presence throughout the Midwest, has a deep history in Cedar Falls, with two of ACG’s Principals, Ryan Cahalan and Sean Fogarty, having attended the University of Northern Iowa along with Tina Smothers, President of ARTISAN Management Group, having previously managed the asset. “This familiarity with the property, general submarket dynamics, and ‘boots on the ground’ asset and property management provided the joint venture equity investor additional comfort in ACG’s vision for the community,” said Toothaker.

Originally built between 1974 and 1994, Park @ Nine23 is comprised of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment homes in flats and townhome-style floorplans. The seller of the asset had owned it for decades and was a steward of the community, conveying it little deferred maintenance, allowing ACG to focus on renovating and improving the community through unit interior and common area upgrades.

Park @ Nine23 features a robust community amenity package including an updated clubhouse, swimming pool, fitness center, business center, dog park, and storage lockers. The asset was approximately 97% occupied at the time of closing.