Louisville’s Woodbridge Apartments

Sundance Bay has taken a liking to Louisville.

The Orem, Utah-based company previously purchased and conducted a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Barrington Place office tower downtown, and the company is repeating that process with another Louisville apartment complex.

The company acquired the 360-unit Woodbridge Apartments off New La Grange Road and Ormsby Lane in Louisville’s East End in late January. Jefferson Property Valuation Administrator records show Sundance Bay bought multiple parcels, totaling a little more than 30 acres that was split into two separate deeds. One deed was recorded at $14.4 million while the other was a little more than $16 million.

Ryan Baughman, managing director of Sundance Bay, said in an interview Wednesday that the company was attracted to the property because of the traffic in the area, the location and its proximity to residents with higher median incomes, and strong home values

Woodbridge, which was built in the 1980s, is structurally sound and has a strong mix of amenities and layouts, he said.

“This property fortunately has good bones and doesn’t need (as much investment) as many other places,” Baughman said.

But the company does plan to upgrade the facility and already has started on a renovation project that is expected to cost more than $5 million by painting some of the exteriors of the numerous buildings on site. Baughman said the renovations won’t be as involved as what was undertaken at Barrington Place, but he did say the company will spend money upgrading the clubhouse, amenities, facades and units.

He said Woodbridge benefits from already having a strong amenities package that includes a pool, tennis and basketball courts, a dog park, fitness center, a fishing lake with a pier and a playground.

Sundance Bay is looking into possibly adding an outdoor grilling area near the pool and secondary grilling areas on the property, but he said most of the work will be spent on updating existing amenities and units.

For example, the clubhouse is receiving an upgraded resident lounge, leasing office and wireless Internet lounge, and new vinyl flooring will be placed in the apartment complex’s public spaces. The apartments themselves, a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, are receiving new paint, cabinetry, appliances and windows.

Baughman did not disclose a completion date for the work.

Rent starts at about $855 at Woodbridge for a smaller unit of 710 square feet, topping out at $1,250 for a nearly 1,200-square-foot apartment, according to the Woodbrige website.

Sundance Bay officials said the complex is more than 90 percent leased.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) disclosed earlier this week that it closed on a nearly $25 million loan with Sundance Bay related to the acquisition of Woodbridge.

As I have previously reported, Sundance Bay started a multimillion-dollar renovation of Barrington Place after purchasing it, partnering with South Carolina-based Greystar on leasing.

The complex has more than 200 studio and one-bedroom units.

We got this sneak peek of those renovations last year, with renovated units getting vaulted ceilings, quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, polished concrete flooring, new cabinets and new plumbing and lighting fixtures.

Barrington Place changed hands again recently when an affiliate of Nashville-based Covenant Capital Group bought the property for more than $12 million.