Pacific Property Sells 262 Units

SAN DIEGO-A little more than a year after acquiring the 262-unit Mountain Ranch Apartments asset, Palo Alto-based Pacific Property Co. has sold the property to locally based HR Partners for $44.5 million. The purchase price includes the assumption of approximately $27 million in existing debt.

Pacific, along with joint venture partner GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp., acquired Mountain Ranch Apartments and the adjacent, 338-unit Carmel Mountain Apartments property in December 2002 for approximately $80 million from Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. At that time, Pacific’s company officials were contemplating a five-year hold period and a $4.7-million rehab project aimed at upgrading both properties. Pacific has actually begun the renovation program and as a result, has tacked on an additional $175 per month to Mountain Ranch’s rents, which ranged from $970 to $1,320 at the time of the December 2002 acquisition. When it comes to the five-year hold period, however, “the property’s exiting condominium map and our (Pacific’s) ‘on the ground’ assessment of current Southern California investor demand for institutional quality, well-located assets indicated an earlier exit was warranted,” according to the firm’s acquisitions manager Rory Gardner.