Investors Pay $34M For 224 Units

MARINA DEL REY, CA-Lyon Capital Ventures of Newport Beach and the Wolff Co. of Scottsdale, have acquired the 224-unit Villa Venetia apartment complex from the Kor Group of Los Angeles for nearly $34.3 million. The buyers have purchased the improvements of Villa Venetia, which occupies a site on a long-term ground lease with the City of Los Angeles that expires in 2022. The complex is situated on the main water channel at 13900-13910 Fiji Way. The property features garden-style apartments in four three-story buildings, a clubhouse, two pools, a tennis court and subterranean parking. The complex was built in two phases in 1964 and 1969, and underwent extensive renovations that were completed in 2000. The buyer plans to redevelop the existing property, construct new apartment units, and build a private marina, say Curtis Palmer and Herb Chase of Colliers Seeley International’s West Los Angeles office, who, along with Alex Quintana, represented the buyer and the seller. The seller had already increased the asset value through property improvements and rental escalations, providing the buyer with “a tremendous upside” via the redevelopment, the Colliers Seeley brokers say. Alvin J. “Fritz” Wolff Jr., chairman of the Wolff Co., says the company chose the property for its potential for further development as well as its coastal location and the “solid multifamily fundamentals” of the Southern California market compared with other similar housing markets in the nation.Villa Venetia is one of the few apartment communities located directly on the waterfront in Marina del Rey. The property’s average unit size is approximately 1,110 sf. It is composed of 146 studio/one-bedroom units, 63 two-bedroom units and 15 three-bedroom units. Villa Venetia will be managed by Lyon Management Group Inc., which manages more than 46 apartment properties comprising more than 12,500 units in several key markets across the US. The Wolff Co. is a family business focused primarily on the acquisition, ownership, development and management of apartment properties throughout the Western US. Its management and development portfolio is valued in excess of $620 million of commercial properties and multifamily communities.