Atlanta-based Chartwell Real Estate Partners has bought three empty residential buildings atop Rolling Mill Hill and will begin leasing the spaces in January.

John Tirrill, Chartwell’s managing partner, said the company paid $7 million for the 72 units plus 0.8 acres that could be used for future development. Chartwell bought the property from Bank of America, which had taken control in 2009 via foreclosure.

Chartwell, which has an office in Franklin, closed on its purchase today. The company has developed several apartment communities throughout the Southeast, including The Grove at Whitworth (301 units), The Grove Richland (292 units) and The Grove at Devon Hills (349 units) in Nashville. Of note, this will be the real estate company’s first truly urban holding.

“We’ve been interested in the buildings since 2009,” said the Atlanta-based Tirrill, who once lived in Nashville and whose physician grandfather did volunteer work on the Rolling Mill Hill site at the former Metro General Hospital.

In June 2009, the three Rolling Mill Hill buildings were forced into receivership following a lawsuit filed by Bank of America on behalf of itself and other lenders and asking that the court allow foreclosure on the properties, which face Hermitage Avenue.

The lenders claimed non-payment of $21.4 million in construction loans taken out by then-property owner RMH Development 1 LLC, a Wisconsin-based holding company for the project’s investors, Direct Development. The original construction loans were $42.8 million, with that amount reduced in a loan amendment in September 2009.

Tirrill said Chartwell will soon begin work on more than $600,000 of upgrades to the property, which includes the Art Deco, Victorian and Metro buildings. Work will include restoring the historic terrazzo floors in the Art Deco Building, creating a lush landscaped courtyard, and building a patio, fire pit and grilling stations with views of the Cumberland River and the downtown skyline.

Monthly rental rates will range from $850 to $2,200.

Chartwell also developed The Grove at Waterford Crossing (252 units) in Hendersonville and will begin construction on The Grove-Franklin (186 units) in Franklin in January 2011. 

Phil Ryan, executive director of Rolling Mill Hill master developer Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, said the renting of the three buildings will complement the revitalization of the area.

“The entire Rutledge Hill area has been revitalized in recent years with a new Children’s Theater, a renovated government complex, the Fire Department headquarters and an awakening retail scene,” Ryan said in a release. “It’s obviously primed for investment. Chartwell has been actively working to purchase the property for quite some time, and we’re glad they are moving forward with occupancy.”