LOS ANGELES-The scope of the recent $60-million acquisition of the Crenshaw Village multifamily portfolio has drawn institutional investor attention back to the Baldwin Hills submarket, according to Steve Bram, principal and managing director at George Smith Partners. Bram sat down with GlobeSt.com to discuss the submarket and the financing structure of the deal, in this update to a previous story.

“Institutional investors for the most part were unaware of the dynamic in the Baldwin Hills market, and as a result, of this widely circulated offer, many more investors have become aware of the area,” says Bram. “Bid prices for other assets in the Baldwin Hills area have increased over 15% in the last two months, and I believe it is the result of the purchase of the Crenshaw Village property.”

The listing of the Crenshaw Village portfolio drew more attention than expected with at least 10 institutional investors taking property tours and bidding on the asset. “The selling broker originally thought that because this asset was in a infill, inner-city, secondary location that there would not be large demand of the asset,” says Bram. The interest led to somewhat of a bidding war, but Bram's clients, Sean Baker and Gary Simons of Upside Investments Inc., won the asset with a non-contingent offer and substantial cash release. They also were committed to the property, and plan to add $6 million in updates and renovations.