TruAmerica partnered with DVO Real Estate and RCG Longview for a second time to acquire The Haven at Charbonneau, a 126-unit community in Wilsonville, OR, 30 miles south of Portland, and Somerset, a 329-unit community in Kent, WA both from FPA Multifamily.

“Haven is the first of what we hope will be many more assets in the Portland Metro area,” said Robert Hart, TruAmerica's CEO and president.

Portland is one of the fastest-growing urban markets in the U.S. and has seen its local GDP grow by more than 60% over the last decade, outpacing all of its Western peers. This is a direct result of the productivity and enduring strength of the area's economy and employment base, making Wilsonville a magnet for major tech and advanced manufacturing employers.

“This steady employment growth combined with a limited supply of affordable housing, has put upward pressure on multifamily rents, and has created further need for moderately priced housing in the area,” Hart said.

In a separate transaction, TruAmerica partnered with Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation for a fourth time to acquire from Eaton Vance the 386-unit Firdale Village located in the north Seattle submarket of Edmonds. Firdale is a garden-style community that is easily accessible to most Seattle MSA locations, where renters seeking larger homes, mature landscaping, and a less dense setting are left with few options.

Recognized by Forbes as the number one urban market for high-tech job growth, Seattle is one of the nation's top rental markets due to healthy job creation, real wage growth and a young, skilled workforce. Large employers including Boeing, Amazon, Microsoft and Google are expanding their physical footprint and employee headcounts. The Seattle MSA has recovered all the jobs it lost during the Great Recession and has experienced wage growth of over 9% since bottoming out in 2009.

Both Firdale and Somerset benefit from “first ring” suburban locations expected to see demand from middle-income renters priced out of multifamily product closer to central Seattle, according to Jessica Levin, director, acquisitions for Intercontinental.

TruAmerica plans to invest $13 million in property capital improvement programs, which will include full renovations of all unit interiors, building exterior repairs and enhancements, and significant upgrades to the common area amenities ultimately bettering the resident living experience.

TruAmerica Multifamily is a vertically integrated value-add multifamily investment firm founded in July 2013 as a joint venture between Robert Hart and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. TruAmerica has been one of the country's most active multifamily investors and manages a $3.6 billion portfolio of more than 17,500 units across prime locations throughout Northern and Southern California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona and Utah.