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John Hampton installs new carpet as renovations continue at the former Wynridge Apartments at Ridgeway and Knight Arnold. The complex’s new owner, Resource Residential, based in Philadelphia, Pa., is investing $3.6 million to get the property back on its feet.

It’s the size of a small town in the heart of Hickory Hill: 26 buildings with 568 apartments that could easily house 1,700 people.

The Wynridge Apartments are set on 50 beautiful acres of rolling hills and majestic pines and oaks.

Clubhouse changes will be apparent inside and out. The building will be home to a new fitness center, and the two swimming pools will be converted to saltwater.

Photo by Jim Weber
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Painters including Ruben Mejia are busy applying forest green to exterior surfaces and caramel shades to interior walls at The Woods at Ridgeway.

But the 24-year-old complex near Ridgeway and Knight Arnold housed so much trouble.

Burglaries and shootings.

Vacancy rates dipping far below 50 percent.

Faded paint, rotted wood, broken street lights, crumbling asphalt, overgrown trees and bushes, eroded lawns.

Finally, foreclosure.

Now, galloping onto the grounds like a conquering hero, comes Philadelphia, Pa.-based Resource Residential.

The company specializes in buying distressed apartments at bargain prices and improving them. It bought Wynridge last September for a song at $9.5 million, or just $16,725 per unit.

Renaming the property The Woods at Ridgeway, the asset management company is halfway through a $3.6 million renovation of the apartments.

The trees are trimmed.

Forest green paint is being spread over exterior facades as interior walls are being painted caramel.

New carpet and linoleum are being laid.

New plumbing and lights are being installed in kitchens and bathrooms.

Rotting wood siding is being replaced.

Shaky balconies are being rebuilt, street lights repaired, and asphalt drives resealed.

The clubhouse is being transformed with a fitness center; the two pools are being converted to eco-friendly saltwater.

But restoring a sense of security was priority No. 1. Holes in the perimeter fence have been plugged, an entrance gate has been erected, and two “courtesy officers” have been hired.

Having lived in the complex for six years, Ann Kellum can tell the difference.

“There were shootings, break-ins. My apartment got broken into twice. … It wasn’t so nice,” she said.

Now? “It’s wonderful. The people at the office and the security. It’s a pleasure to live over here. … If the security man sees me, he’ll stop and wait until I get into my car.”

Resource Residential is the property management arm of Resource America, an asset management company.

Todd Jaycox is a senior vice president of another arm of the company, Resource Real Estate. “We’re good at turning around properties,” Jaycox said.

Over the past 21/2 years — coinciding with the recession — Resource Real Estate has purchased 26 properties like Wynridge, totaling $150 million.

Wynridge was Resource’s first venture into Memphis, but it has since purchased a nearby 377-unit complex, Waterstone Landing, 5995 Waterstone Oak Way.

“We are purchasing these distressed properties at compelling values, compared to where they traded two to three years ago,” Jaycox said. “We’re not a company that goes into a market and buys Class A property and keeps it 95 percent leased.”

According to this business model, the former owner and lender take a bath, and Resource America benefits. But so do the apartment residents and neighborhood.

“It’s a great thing from our perspective,” said Robert Lipscomb, director of housing and community development for the City of Memphis.

“It’s also putting properties back on the tax roll,” he said. “Typically with distressed properties, no tax revenues are flowing; it’s a blight, a security issue, and a neighborhood issue, too.”

Transforming distressed apartment complexes is hard, and not just anybody can do it, Lipscomb said.

“Depending on tenant screening and good security and zero tolerance, you can make it work,” Lipscomb said. “The secret is getting the property at a good price.”

– Tom Bailey Jr.: 529-2388

The Woods at Ridgeway

Former name: Wynridge Apartments.

Where: 6277 Lake Arbor Drive in Hickory Hill.

Units: One to three bedrooms.

Rent: $475 to high $700s.

Senior property manager: David Ward

Renovation schedule: First 50 units completed this month, with 30 more coming on line every three weeks.

Amenities: Tutoring program staffed by Memphis City Schools; two pools, clubhouse with fitness center, renovated tennis and sports courts.

Contact: (901) 367-2788.

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