The Takara-So Apartments Won’t Be Going Away Just Yet

THE TAKARA-SO APARTMENTS WON’T BE GOING AWAY JUST YET Takara-So Apartments, 1919 W. Main St., Dearborn Place, Montrose, HoustonInner Loop property watchers: As other Montrose apartment complexes are knocked down and redeveloped left and right, do your thoughts turn occasionally to the Takara-So? If so, you are not alone: The 77-unit 2-story apartments at 1919 W. Main St., occupying the entire 1.22-acre block also bounded by McDuffie, Hazard, and Colquitt, was sold back in May in an off-market transaction. The complex that once belonged in the portfolio of swindler Allen Stanford is now the property of a group headed by Southern California firm Apartment Income Investors. A cached version of a memo for the investment posted online in advance of the sale envisioned renting out and holding the property for 3 to 5 years before selling it to investors or a developer, and identifies the price as $5.51 million. Photo: Takara-So Apartments

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  • If the memo is true about sitting on the Takara-So property for 3-5 years, I think that’s a wise decision. Some other developers have been acquiring land, but taking a wait-and-see attitude before building. There are still a lot of “luxury” apartments under construction inside the Loop, and if they all open at about the same time, there could be a glut of expensive units on the market. I can’t help but wonder if a rental price correction will follow. A lot of people who live inside the Loop now can’t afford those rents! Houston has always had a blind spot about overbuilding apartment complexes, and I think we’re dangerously close to that now.

  • Sellers left money on the table on this one. Good luck to the new out of state owners – welcome to the City of Houston and by the way might want to start shopping it now.

  • I saw “Apartment Income Investors” and “Southern California Firm” and already I don’t like it. I looked at their website and just confirmed what I suspected: AII is all about return on investment for its investors. If a property is making money, I suspect they assume all is well. I wonder if it would matter to them if if there are severe electrical or structural deficiencies, or people dealing drugs or getting shot on the property. I wonder if, like so many investor-landlords I’ve seen, they would just play stupid and hide behind lawyers
    .
    I guess people will be happy that they’re going to leave the apartments standing and there will be some “affordable” units left in Montrose – at least for the time being. But I’ve seen what the wrong owner can do to an apartment complex. If I was a neighbor or a tenant, I would Apartment Income Investors very closely.

  • Not that AII would be any worse than R Allen Stanford of course….

  • Having been formerly red, and now green, then maybe– and sticking to an additive demure– soon a fresh paint job: a blue… Sky Blue?

  • If it were me, I’d be shopping the land to developers or trying to find money to develop it myself. Get while the getting’s good. It won’t last forever.

  • Takara-So should be a cash cow.

  • Speaking of Takara-So, does anybody know what is going on right now in the 4200 block of McDuffie?
    For at least and hour and a half, and probably longer, the whole block, which is catty corner and to the southwest of Takara-So, has been cordoned off by lots of firetrucks.
    The fire guys couldn’t tell the onlookers what was up, at least not when I was there..
    Stretchers, lights flashing, no sirens, lots of trucks, lots of personnel, lights flashing………..
    Anybody?

  • Takara-so-ugly but it does serve it’s purpose. Surprised Cody hasn’t bought this one yet.. :)

  • AII is all about return on investment for its investors.
    ______________________________________________________
    perish the thought!

  • Back in the day looking for a cheap apartment in the late ’80s, the beehived chain smoking apartment manager of Sleepy Hollow (where Gables Richmond is now) referred me to Takara-So She said “Hun go over there and see Miss Jimmie”. I thought to myself, oh Good Lord NO!

  • Cm: I tried for years. It was always just a bit too expensive relative to other options. Then once I’d agree to the price, it would go up again.
    .
    The people that bought it didn’t buy it based on based on strong operational returns as they could do much better with other options. In fact, I don’t think anyone is buying multifamily in Montrose to get a return. Montrose is home to trophy properties now. People buy them because they like the area and want something here. The returns are secondary. And the pricing shows it.
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    Price, and the city working to get people to sell to devs via various policies made Montrose not a place for me anymore. I’m all about the east side of innerloop :)

  • Harold, one of my (former) neighbors had an electrical fire in her townhouse. Fortunately everybody is okay.

  • @roadchick I believe luxury apartments are being overbuilt as well, however you are the first person besides me that believes that. I have heard that Houstons Growth is estimated to continue for the next 7-12 years as long as oil price remain in tack. Can you elaborate on your reasons why you think the luxury apartments are overbuilt and too expensive.