Bascom Northwest Adds 163 Units

KENMORE, WA-Bascom Northwest continues to add to its holdings in Washington State and the Northwest in general. In an off-market transaction, the value-add apartment investment division of Irvine, CA-based Bascom Group LLC recently paid Fairfield Residential $10.2 million for Kenmore Estates Apartments, a 163-unit property in this Seattle suburb.Built in 1978 and substantially renovated at the end of the 1990s, Kenmore Estates is the fourth asset in a regional portfolio that now totals about 1,300 units. Bascom Northwest officials expect to invest some $300 million in properties in and around the cities of San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City over the next few years. So far this year, it has spent about $107 million in those markets.Bascom Northwest officials say Kenmore Estates was an opportunity to acquire an infill apartment community in a desirable Seattle community at approximately 50% of replacement cost. “Kenmore Estates is less than 20 minutes drive to Seattle’s main job hubs in Downtown Seattle and the Eastside,” says Bascom managing director Brian Wirtz. “We expect the property to benefit greatly from the additional jobs being created by the area’s major job growth generators; Microsoft, Amazon.com and Boeing, as well as other employers in the area.”Kenmore Estates was 92% occupied at the time of sale. The going-in capitalization rate on the investment is about 5.9%, according to Wirtz. Common area amenities include a pool, spa, sauna, “tot lot,” three laundry facilities and a fitness center. The unit mix is 6% one-bedroom, one-bath units (averaging 678 sf), 33% one-bedroom, one-bath flats (696 sf), 31% two-bedroom, two-bath flats (904 sf), and 31% two-bedroom, two-bath units (920 sf). Wirtz tells GlobeSt.com they intend to re-paint the complex, remodel the clubhouse update the unit interiors, among other things. Seattle-based Pinnacle Management has been retained to manage the asset. Pinnacle also manages the two other Seattle-area properties Bascom Northwest has acquired this year. Late last month, it acquired the Bellevue Pointe Apartments for $20.7 million, or $86,250 per door, in a joint venture with Bay Area developer William Wilson III. Constructed in 1979, Bellevue Pointe is a 240-unit complex located at 15414 NE 18th Street, which is less than one mile from Microsoft’s headquarters campus. In June, Bascom Northwest acquired the 750-unit Waterstone Place Apartments in Federal Way from Chicago-based Equity Residential for $49 million. The property was developed in the late 1980s on 35 acres. Amenities include three clubhouses, three pools, two playgrounds, two barbecue areas and three laundry facilities. Kirk Hiller of Coldwell Banker brokered the Kenmore transaction for Fairfield.