Porta d'Italia Fetches $52M

SAN DIEGO-It’s a familiar tune, as another apartment property sells Downtown with the purpose of converting the units to condominiums. In the latest deal, Porta d’Italia LLC has acquired the 184-unit, mixed-use project, also called Porta d’Italia, for $52 million in the city’s Little Italy area. The property is a two-building, four-story project that was originally developed in 2003 and is currently occupied with renters. Port d’Italia LLC acquired the complex from Sandcor Harborside LLC, also known as Intracorp San Diego.The 129,953-sf property includes 10,720 sf of ground-level retail and fetched $400 per sf or $282,500 per unit. Entitlements are in place and the condo conversion has already begun with units being available for sale by late September or early October. The project is located on Grape Street between India and Columbia streets in the Little Italy Neighborhood of Downtown. In the deal, Linville Martin and Danny Fitzgerald of Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial, who specialize in mixed-use infill development Downtown, represented Porta d’Italia LLC. John Chu and Ed Rosen of Burnham Real Estate represented Sandcor Harborside LLC.”Essentially, it’s a brand new building,” Martin tells Globest.com. Martin adds that while the complex is not considered a class A property, it very solid project and was located in a desirable area. In addition, the complex’ price points would fill a need in the market place, bringing units on line that would be more affordable than many of the condos going up Downtown. Martin says the units have not been priced yet, but emphasizes that they will meet affordability demands in the area.Many of the renters who currently occupy the complex will be among those marketed to first once the units come on line for sale. Martin says two other large projects are in the entitlement process within a couple of blocks of Porta d’Italia LLC that could help drive the ground-level retail of the project. “The retail consists of a newly designed 7-Eleven, a cigar shop, a chocolate shop and a cleaners, among others,” Martin says.