The prolific developer Kelly Doran, founder and principal of Doran Companies, sold four of his University of Minnesota-area student housing complexes on Monday.
In an effort to expand his development projects in the metro area, Doran said he sold the properties — Dinkydome, Sydney Hall, the Edge on Oak and 412 Lofts — to the asset management company University Communities. Residents can expect to see changes to leasing and housing agreements in the fall.
The properties sold for about $84.5 million, said Keona Lee, sales and marketing director for University Communities.
Doran, who developed his first complex, Sydney Hall, in 2009, said he plans to scale back development in the University area.
“We had a lot of money invested at the campus,” he said. “It was time to diversify a little bit and take that money and go elsewhere.”
Doran said he’s working on projects in Brooklyn Park, Hopkins and Maple Grove. He’s also one of the finalists bidding on the city’s redevelopment project of Nicollet Mall.
The four apartment buildings will keep their current names but will be combined under one brand, East Bank Communities.
Once the current lease cycle is up, tenants can expect to see different move-in dates and individual leasing offers, Lee said.
Doran put all six of his University-area developments up for sale in June, but University Communities only decided to buy four of them. The Knoll and The Bridges are still for sale, but Doran is not actively marketing them, he said.
“It was a better deal to sell the buildings we sold and keep the buildings we’re keeping,” he said.