Woodburn Exchange, the 322-unit mixed-use apartment complex anchoring East Walnut Hills at 2533 Woodburn Ave., changed hands in a landmark deal this month, selling for about $65 million. The sale marks a change in ownership of one of the neighborhood's largest residential and retail properties, closing out developer Buckingham Cos.'s ownership of the site just three years after construction wrapped.
According to Local 12 News, which partnered with the Cincinnati Business Courier on the report, the deal closed in September 2026 and brought together two out-of-town-adjacent investors: Cincinnati-based SPS Partners, which according to public records now owns a 50.5% majority share of the property, and Los Angeles-based Triple M Investments, the joint venture's other named partner. Indianapolis-based Buckingham Cos. was the seller.
SPS Partners, founded in 2015, manages more than 1,500 residential units and over $250 million in assets across the Midwest, giving it a substantial local footprint even before this acquisition, per SPS Partners' own description of its investment platform. The firm describes itself as operating a vertically integrated multifamily investment and management business.
A Site With a Telecom Past
Woodburn Exchange sits on 6.2 acres that were once home to the Cincinnati Bell Woodburn Exchange telephone switching facility, a history that inspired the project's name, according to Buckingham Companies. Before redevelopment, the site later served as office space for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Completed in 2023, the finished project spans two buildings, combining the 322 apartments with 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, structured garage parking, a fitness center and an outdoor pool.
That ground-floor retail has continued to fill in well after the buildings opened. Strength-training studio MADabolic opened in early 2025, and bottle shop Woodburn Fine Wine & Spirits opened at 2555 Woodburn Avenue, according to Everything Cincy — signs of continued commercial activity along the corridor.
Rents Span a Wide Range
Woodburn Exchange offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
The sale follows Buckingham Cos.'s recent completion of Contrast OTR, a separate $65 million, 276-unit mixed-use project along the Cincinnati streetcar line in Over-the-Rhine that opened in late 2025, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier. The Indianapolis-based developer developed both Woodburn Exchange and Contrast OTR.
Part of a Broader East Walnut Hills Build-Out
The Woodburn Exchange sale lands amid a wave of residential and commercial investment across East Walnut Hills. Developer Uptown Rental Properties has proposed a separate $45 million, five-story apartment building at 1520 Madison Road that would replace a 1.57-acre Hamilton County office site, as Hoodline reported earlier this year.
Commercial activity along Woodburn Avenue has also picked up: the former Woodburn Brewing space at 2800 Woodburn Ave secured a five-year lease in August for a new venue called The Gardens, part of what Hoodline described as a wave of new hospitality and retail leases hitting the neighborhood. The neighborhood's development pipeline also includes other proposed projects.
Woodburn Exchange's unit mix includes studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. That spread gives the property a range of housing options in East Walnut Hills.
