The Village Apartments in Forest Lake MN have been around for over 50 years. The development started in 1969 by Patrick J. Gaughan, the founder of the Gaughan Company. The Gaughan Company is now run by his son, Patrick M. Gaughan.
The Village Apartments consist of 252 apartments in 7 different buildings on over 13 acres of land.
The complex was owned and managed by the Gaughan Company until December of 2024, when they sold it.
Who is the buyer?
According to a certificate of real estate value [eCRV] filed with the state the new owner is 'Village Apartments MN, LLC'.
The Minnesota Secretary of State business search results page for Village Apartments MN, LLC shows the business was registered on 5/31/2024. The Registered Agent is 'Registered Agents Inc' and Registered Office Address of 202 N Cedar Ave Suite #1, Owatonna, MN 55060.
According to Wikipedia Registered Agents Inc is an 'American registered agent firm founded in 2008' and 'is known for obscuring ownership of the businesses it forms by listing its address'.
The address listed on the eCRV is '821821 Raymond Avenue Suite 400, Saint Paul, MN 55114 United States'.
'821 Raymond Avenue Suite 400, Saint Paul, MN 55114' is the address of North Lone Star Capital. North Lone Star managing partner Michael Piehler said in an interview the property was purchased as a part of a partnership with Eephus Capital, a Utah-based company.
An Instagram post by Eric Chadderdon of Gibby's Capital seems to imply that Gibby's Capital Investments LLC is also involved.
About the deal:
The Village Apartments sold for $24.5 million. The deal called for a $6,467,000 down payment and $18,033,000 assumed debt. The interest only loan requires $87,114 monthly payments with a balloon payment due 12/01/2032. The sale of the complex works out to about $97,222 per unit.
In a linked-in post from before the purchase Eephus Capital was telling potential investers to expect a 16-19% Annual Rate of Return [ARR] on their money.
What happens now?
The new owners have made unclear claims such as they intend to "executing strategic value-add opportunities". Residents have wondered if this would lead to cost increases for them.
In an article Pieler was quoted as saying “We’ll have to do some deferred maintenance, nothing extreme, but a few roofs will be replaced, some parking lots, but that’s nothing the residents will feel the impact of,”
Satellite images available from Google show the roof and parking lots appear to be in disrepair. Critics might point out negligent maintenance on the outside of the building might be a sign of negligent maintenance on the inside as well. Reviews on popular websites like Yelp and Google seem to confirm just that.
Who manages the complex?
The property is currently being managed by BLVD Management & Advisory.
How will this effect residents?
The impact this sale will have on residents is still unknown. In theory the impact will be limited, but time will tell. It has been pointed out that for all the faults Gaughan Company had as an owner and manager at least they had their family name on it. The new owners use shell companies and private investment companies.
This report is based on publicly available information. If you believe anything is incorrect or you have more information please use the contact page to get in touch.