Oakland County residents may have heard that Triton Properties Company, a real-estate investment firm based in Denver, announced on Nov. 11 that it had purchased four apartment buildings in the Riverfront section of Detroit. A spokesperson from the company was quoted as saying that the firm’s first step would be to deal with maintenance that had previously been gone unattended.
The four buildings were located on East Jefferson Avenue, Parker Street and Van Dyke, and they contained a total of 139 units. According to reports, Triton Properties specializes in the acquisition of historical commercial real estate, and it also renovates the properties it purchases.
Reports said that the buildings are in the vicinity of other Detroit properties purchased by the firm since 2009, including a tower it bought for $2 million and subsequently renovated at a cost of $5 million. The company’s statement noted that the firm was in the midst of coming up with improvement budgets for the four Riverside buildings it bought most recently.
Companies that attempt to acquire real-estate assets for business use may run into issues down the line when they discover that previous zoning regulations, covenants or local bylaws confound their efforts to use their new property the way they had intended to. In addition, firms that undertake renovations or re-purpose historical buildings for new uses may have to adhere to ordinances designed to preserve the historical appearances of the properties or face stiff financial penalties. Real-estate attorneys may be able to assist these firms by helping them evaluate the legal ramifications of property deals in advance so that they can avoid costly conflicts later.
Source: Detroit News, “Investment firm buys 4 Riverfront area apartment buildings “, Louis Aguilar, November 11, 2013
