News
Big Multifamily Buy in Oakland
November 2, 2012
| Gertrude Stein famously said there's no there there, but Kennedy Wilson thinks there's plenty there—in Oakland, of course. The real estate investment firm just bought the 178-unit Regency Tower Apartments (1130 Third Ave) for $31M. |
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| The seller was Essex Property Trust. KW Multifamily Management Group president Bob Hart tells us the acquisition complements the 4,000 units KW bought in the East Bay. The company will spend $3M to upgrade and rebrand the property, which was built in 1975. (It's finally time to get rid of all those disco balls, they boogie no more.) ?We're going to take the property to another level,? building a new leasing pavilion, dressing up the pool and fitness areas, and adding a lounge. Bob says Essex had been sprucing up the unit interiors, and KW will take the remaining units and "rachet those up." Amenities at Regency Tower also include a dog park. |
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| We snapped Bob this spring at our multifamily summit. He calls the transaction a ?play on urban Oakland? in the best neighborhood: Lake Merritt. He notes there's been a ton of revitalization and redevelopment there and it's transportation-centric. The city also enjoys spillover from San Francisco's rapidly increasing rents. Oakland's rent growth last year was 10%. (It's all part of a plot to saturate the Oakland market with 49er fans.) Bob says Regency Tower also offers substantial upside with rents currently below market. |
