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An apartment complex in Taylorsville is part of a $255 million deal that illustrates the demand these days among investors seeking multifamily residential properties.
Los Angeles-based TruAmerica Multifamily has purchased Madison Settler's Point, a 416-unit apartment property at 4770 S. 1565 West, along with six other complexes in suburban neighborhoods near Portland and Seattle.
The deal, announced Friday, involved a total of 1,829 apartments, according to the seller Equus Capital Partners, a private equity fund headquartered in Philadelphia. Equus Vice President Greg Curci, who oversaw the transaction, referred to the Salt Lake City area as being among "the nation's most coveted rental markets."
"Investor interest in these well-located and high-performing assets was overwhelming," Curci said in a statement.
In addition to Madison Settler's Point, properties that changed hands included two in Wilsonville, Ore., south of Portland; two in Silverdale, west of Seattle; and one each in Lynnwood and Kirkland, both north of Seattle. At the time of the sale, the apartments were 97 percent leased, Equus said.
All seven complexes in the transaction were built between 1982 and 1990, and Equus said all offered residents a mix of unit types, along with "resort-style amenities in low-density and attractive settings." These are what the industry refers to as Class B, meaning they are generally older, may have some deferred maintenance and tend to have more affordable rents than newly built apartments.
The buyer is also privately held, founded in 2013 in a partnership between California real estate executive Robert E. Hart and The Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America. TruAmerican's website says the company specializes in buying, rehabilitating and managing properties in what it calls "mid-tier apartment communities" in the West.
Since late 2013, TruAmerica has bought at least 4,444 apartment units in Arizona, California, Washington and Colorado. The company purchased Crossing at Daybreak, a 315-unit community in South Jordan's Daybreak, in May.
In an interview, TruAmerica Chief Administrative Officer Mark Enfield said the company is already pursuing other deals in the Salt Lake City area.
"We really want to get it into our portfolio," he said.
The company also said it would be investing $30 million in "significant upgrades" to properties across its holdings.
Tony Semerad