Three Tacoma apartment sites, Puyallup townhouse site sell for millions in separate sales
Multifamily developments are still commanding top dollar in Pierce County, with four recent sales highlighting how much prices have risen in just a few years.
▪ Terra Heights, 2325 S. 96th St. in Tacoma, sold for $54 million April 19 from Cherry Creek Venture LLC to Terra Heights Apts LLC and Wu Terra Heights LLC, both of Hacienda Heights, California, representing Wilshire Unlimited.
Wilshire Unlimited describes its business plan on its website as “acquiring under-performing assets in strategic locations, providing rehabilitation funds, new management and increasing cash flow.”
Cherry Creek Venture, representing Security Properties of Seattle, bought Terra Heights in 2014 for $18.2 million.
Terra Heights was constructed in 1978, with 252 units east of Interstate 5 near Charlton Lake.
▪ Bella on Canyon townhomes in Puyallup, 5402 141st St. E., sold earlier this month for $50.2 million by an LLC representing SEB Inc., of Tacoma/University Place, led by Stephen Berg, to Bella SPE Owner LLC affiliated with the Calida Group, based in Las Vegas, a multifamily real estate development and investment firm.
The 140-unit gated neighborhood was built in 2012.
Berg’s company also is known for its development of apartments at University Place’s Town Center, among other sites.
Two other older properties also sold in a combo deal by an LLC representing investors in Seattle, who purchased the pair in March 2016 for a combined $9.2 million.
The two sold this month for roughly $19.4 million to LLCs tied to Seattle investors, including Milestone Properties:
▪ The Pennington, 702 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, sold for $7.2 million.
The property was built in 1931 and has 52 studio and one-bedroom units averaging 503 square feet. It’s across from Tacoma Medical Center at the corner of South Seventh and MLK Jr. Way.
▪ The Vintage, 518 S. Seventh St., sold for $12.2 million.
The property was built in 1929 and has 84 studio and one-bedroom units averaging 457 square feet. It’s across from the Tacoma Public Schools headquarters at the corner of South Seventh Street and Tacoma Avenue South. The promotional material for the property noted many units with views of Commencement Bay and downtown.
The Vintage and The Pennington were marketed together by Berkadia, a joint venture of Berkshire Hathaway and Jefferies Financial Group.
The two sales were first reported in the Daily Journal of Commerce.
Investor interest remains strong on West Coast multifamily properties, according to a Kidder Mathews report posted in late March.
“Timing the top of any market is difficult, but several waves of looming interest rate hikes can add to the impetus,” it noted.
It added that apartments can be a safer bet in inflationary markets.
Last week, Harbor Custom Development put up six of its multifamily properties for sale, including one in Tacoma, for a combined $278 million.
