A Midtown apartment portfolio has sold for $11.1 million.

Detroit-based The Roxbury Group’s three buildings — totaling 72 units — includes the The Auburn at 4240 Cass Ave., plus the Edman and Milton buildings at 122 West Willis and 132 West Willis, respectively.

The Auburn, the newest of the three, also includes 9,000 square feet of retail space that houses Go! Sy Thai restaurant, Cold Truth vegan ice cream shop, Cass Corridog pet store and others.

A joint venture between Dynasty Investment Partners, which is run by Anthony Toth and Riaz Sheriff, and New York-based Foundation Capital Partners bought the three buildings last week in a deal brokered by the Southfield office of Colliers International Inc., Grosse Pointe Farms-based Greater Development LLC and the Detroit office of @properties. 

Toth said the company plans to "further improve on the excellent community that the seller had established for the properties and that area of Midtown."

"The properties are in good condition and while significant capital is not needed for improvements, we will be making some improvements where needed," Toth said.

David Di Rita, principal of The Roxbury Group, said in an email that The Auburn, the firm’s first ground-up development, "unquestionably was the project that put the corner of Cass and Canfield on the map."

"We were honored to partner with Invest Detroit and (University Cultural Center Association, now known as Midtown Detroit Inc.) 10 years ago to make it happen, and believe we have left it in good hands with the new owners," Di Rita said.

He noted that selling the two West Willis buildings "made sense to us to sell them as part of the larger deal."

Toth said the 58 Auburn apartments rent for an average of $1,170 per month, or $1.90 per square foot across four studios and 54 one-bedrooms, while the commercial space leases at $18.75 per square foot. The eight, two-bedroom Edman units rent for $1,590 per month on average, or $1.84 per square foot, while the six, one-bedroom Milton units rent for $1,271 per month, or $2.05 per square foot.

Toth said being only the second owner of the Auburn, which was developed in 2012, was a key factor in the deal. The other two buildings were constructed in the early 1900s and renovated five years ago, he said.

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Credit: Kirk Pinho, Crain’s Detroit Business

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