Westport on the River Apartments : Waterside

Total number of units: 682

1703 S. Jackson Street
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74107

Property Description

Panther and Knightvest acquired Westport on the River Apartments (renamed Waterside Apartments) on March 8, 2017, which marked our 12th acquisition with Knightvest. The property is located on 20.47 acres, with 682-units, Class B garden style apartment community situated on the banks of the Arkansas River less than 2 miles from downtown Tulsa. The Property was constructed in 1984 and had been under the same ownership, Sterling Equities (NYC), for 15 years prior to our acquisition. The property had been well maintained but had not received any value-add capital to upgrade and modernize the property. As a result, the unit interiors, common areas and landscaping were dated and in significant need of renovations. The property consists of 40 two and three-story buildings, a clubhouse, 3 swimming pools, a sand volleyball court, and parking for 1,083 cars (including 104 carports). The unit interiors feature walk-in closets, spacious balconies, individual hot water heaters, with some floor plans featuring vaulted ceilings and wood-burning fireplaces. The property had excellent value-add potential through completion of an interior upgrade program with faux wood flooring, new black or stainless steel appliances, resurfaced or granite countertops, new cabinet doors, upgraded nickel hardware, and adding washer and dryer connections in select units. Knightvest excels in executing this type of business plan. We also planned to refresh the building exteriors and enhance the common area amenities.

Acquisition Process

Acquired on March 8, 2017, the acquisition of Westport experienced initial challenges with both occupancy and concentrated tenant turnover in the summer of 2017. Over the first 9 months of ownership, in-place rents fell from $680 to $653, while occupancy averaged 81.5%; however, Knightvest worked diligently to turn over the tenant base and to stabilize the property, and by December 2018, occupancy was over 90% and in-place rents were back above acquisition levels at $685.

Property History

In April 2020, the property was refinanced with a 3.19% fixed rate loan maturing in April 2030 (10-year term), which enabled us at the time to catch up the accrued, unpaid preferred return balance, and to return 9% of original investor capital. Prior to the refinancing of the loan, the property paid monthly distributions of 5-7%, and since then, monthly distributions have ranged from 10-13%. Over the course of the hold period, Knightvest performed substantial renovations at the property, including most of the exteriors and common areas, and has updated 95% of the unit interiors (650 units). These renovations drove in-place rents at the property to $831 vs $680 at acquisition (+$151). The property was also recognized as the “Community of the Year” in 2020 by the Tulsa Apartment Association. After 2 prior unsuccessful attempts to sell the property (2023 and 2024), Westport was in need of further capital improvements which resulted in suspending distributions (July 2023) to offset these repairs and pay down accrued expenses.

In 2025, Knightvest enlisted a Dallas based broker, Marcus & Millichap, to market the property for sale. Again, the buyer interest was outstanding with over 211 Confidentiality Agreements signed, 24 property tours, and 18 initial offers. After buyer interviews were completed, we ultimately awarded the sale who dropped the contract. The prior broker at CBRE then reached out to Knightvest with another buyer who ultimately and successfully closed on the property May 22, 2026.

Execution and Sale

Panther investors received an overall multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of 1.37x over the 9.3-year holding period. The distribution multiple to investors after the sale of the property was 0.56x of original equity minus a 0.02x holdback for State of Oklahoma taxes which we are required to file at the partnership level, bringing the total distribution at sale to 0.54x. Note that investors have previously received distributions totaling 0.73x, bringing the total pre-tax MOIC to 1.37x. The average annual return for this investment was 3.9% over 9.3 years, which fell short of the original projected returns due to the extended hold period.