Legacy at Highlands Ranch

About the building

Legacy at Highlands Ranch is a luxury multi-family apartment complex of over 400 units with a strong amenity package including fitness and business centers, a sizeable clubhouse and a pool with grilling and picnic areas. The unit layouts are efficient and feature 9’ ceilings, in-unit washer/dryers, balconies and attached/detached garages in select units.

Investment rationale

Highlands Ranch is an affluent suburb of Denver which has experienced extensive population growth over the last 30 years, expanding from just over 10,000 people in 1990 to over 95,000 people in 2010. Median household incomes are over $100,000, and the community benefits from excellent local amenities and businesses, making it a very desirable place to live.

Built in 1999, the apartments at The Legacy at Highlands Ranch were dated and only attracting submarket rents. The Clubhouse in particular was poorly planned from a space perspective and lacked modern amenities. Unit interiors and common areas remained largely untouched since construction, offering the LaSalle Property Fund the potential to achieve core plus returns through common area and unit renovations.

Improvement works

Once the transaction was complete in late 2017, LaSalle’s Asset Management team took on a series of improvement works, including:

• Renovating units for a contemporary look equivalent to newer builds.
• Reconfiguring the clubhouse to provide for better leasing functionality, a larger gym, events space, game room, and package lockers.
• Painting the exterior and making significant enhancements to the complex’s landscaping.
• Updating the branding and website to match the more contemporary look and feel.
• installing monument sign along a secondary entrance to the property for better curb appeal along Burgundy Street and South Broadway.

What we achieved

Improvement works to The Legacy at Highlands Ranch have had a sustained and positive impact for both residents, who have benefited from the substantial improvements to the complex, and the LaSalle Property Fund. Improvement works have commanded higher rents, and current occupancy levels are over 90%, helping to provide stable and reliable income for the Fund.