Written by David Bracken | TRIANGLE NEWS & OBSERVER

Northwood Ravin, the joint venture between Crosland's former multifamily development arm and Northwood Investors, has bought The Apartments at the Arboretum in Cary for $32 million, according to Wake County property records.

Crosland developed the 205-unit complex, which opened in 2008. Last summer, Crosland, the Charlotte developer that has been among the most active in the Triangle during the past decade, announced that it would divest its retail, multifamily and residential development arms to focus exclusively on managing existing assets.

Crosland's multifamily team became Ravin Partners, led by David Ravin. Ravin Partners and Northwood announced their joint venture in October. The company will both develop and manage apartment projects.

Northwood Investors was founded in 2006 by John Kukral, the former head of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors. Northwood Ravin is developing the 134-unit St. Mary's Square project in Raleigh's Glenwood South area and has also taken over three other Crosland projects in the Triangle: Trinity Commons at Erwin in Durham and Chapel Hill North and Chapel Watch Village.

Northwood Ravin expects to provide property management services for a portfolio that includes 16 properties with a total of 3,100 units.

The Arboretum deal capped a busy year in apartment sales, with nearly $900 million worth of transactions being completed.

Apartments have been far and away the best performing commercial real estate sector in recent years. The turmoil in the residential housing market has increased demand for apartments as more and more people lose their homes to foreclosure or find that they can no longer qualify for a mortgage.