North Avenue apartments purchased for $2.75 million

A new investor has purchased a 67-unit apartment building in the Station North Arts District for $2.75 million.

The buyer, Herbert Kerschbaumer of Real Estate Investment Services LLC, said he plans to spend about $500,000 renovating the building, known as the Boundary Square Apartments, installing a new roof and HVAC system, and redoing bathrooms, kitchens, paint and floors.

The property, last renovated in the 1990s, is located in the 300 block of E.?North Ave. across from Baltimore's school headquarters. It achieved notoriety as a drug den in 2000, when police raided the property, but the surrounding area has seen increased investment in recent years.

The seller, an affiliate of the New York-based Stabilis Fund, took over the building in 2015, after a previous owner faced foreclosure, according to records.

It was largely vacant at the time of the sale, which includes 60 off-street parking spaces, according to SVN Realsite, the Baltimore brokerage that worked on the deal.

Kerschbaumer said he intends to continue to serve low- and moderate-income tenants, with rents for the one- and two-bedroom units ranging from $850 to $950 after renovations are completed. The units now start at $650.

Kerschbaumer, originally from Switzerland, previously worked as a chef in Washington, where he also invested in real estate. His firm turned its attention to Baltimore about two years ago and now owns 116 units, he said.

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