West 27th Place

(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare Apartments 2011, October 20 in Los Angeles).

LOS ANGELES-Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors of New York City has acquired the 161-unit, 392-bed West 27th Place student housing complex at USC, and Acacia Realty Corp. of San Mateo has acquired the 77-unit Legacy at Westglen in Glendale in two recently closed sales. West 27th was sold by a joint venture of CityView and Symphony Development, both based in Los Angeles, while the Glendale property was sold by an East Coast-based pension fund, with both sellers represented by the Institutional Property Advisors multifamily brokerage division of Marcus & Millichap.

According to Ron Harris, an EVP with Institutional Property Advisors in Los Angeles—who represented the West 27th seller along with SVP Peter Katz of IPA’s Phoenix office and associate director Joseph Smolen in Los Angeles—the deal illustrates how the USC market “continues to be one of the most desirable markets in the Los Angeles MSA, with occupancy consistently in the high 90% range.” He notes that West 27th Place is LEED-registered and projected to achieve a platinum certification.

Legacy at Westglen

Katz points out that West 27th Place “is the first brand-new, pedestrian-to-campus, mixed-use student housing development to close within a major coastal CBD in the sector during the past few years.” He adds, “Core student housing assets, located on smaller sites in constraint-restricted submarkets at Tier I universities, create demand from both market rate and student housing institutional capital at risk-adjusted, compressed cap rates and yields.”

Built in 2011 and situated on the Figueroa Corridor, the seven-story West 27th Place features amenities including a 24-hour fitness center with tanning beds and a resort-quality saltwater pool and spa. The building is equipped with private study rooms on each floor, a 24-hour computer lab and a furnished game room with game tables and 50-inch flat screen televisions, plus numerous other amenities.

The Legacy at Westglen in Glendale is a two-building complex at 1151-1161 Sonora Ave. in Glendale that was built in 1984 and underwent moderate renovations in 2006-2007. Harris who represented the seller along with Smolen, commented: “Even though Legacy at Westglen underwent moderate renovations in 2006-2007, there is still an excellent opportunity to add value to this asset by instituting a premier renovation program.” For the buyer, “This asset provided a rare chance to acquire a high-quality stable apartment building in the desirable Glendale market,” Harris said.

Legacy at Westglen features a swimming pool, a new fitness center, two spas, controlled subterranean parking, separate storage lockers, Wi-Fi access, a barbecue area, 24-hour laundry facilities and secure access controlled by an intercom.