Entering the Bay-Area Multifamily Market with a Multimillion-Dollar Deal
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Mountain View, Calif.—Decron Properties Corp. has acquired Highland Gardens, a 187-unit garden-style apartment community in Mountain View, Calif., for $86 million. The acquisition marks LA-based Decron’s first, but not last, buy in the Bay Area multifamily market.
Located at 222 and 234 Escuela, Highland Gardens offers a mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. Originally built in 1964, the seller—a joint venture of San Francisco-based Maximus Real Estate Partners and private equity firm Rockpoint Group LLC—completed a multi-million-dollar renovation in 2013.
While unit interiors were substantially revamped by prior ownership, Decron says it plans to further upgrade the units more closely match new apartment construction in the submarket. The renovation plan will also improve common-area amenities, including the relocation and expansion of the fitness center, creation of a Wi-Fi Lounge, construction of a new Jacuzzi/spa, and enhanced landscaping with outdoor fire pits.
Decron has another $63 million of local assets currently under contract to close by the end of the month, according to president and CEO David Nagel. The firm plans to invest up to $350 million in the San Francisco/San Jose/Bay Area market in 2015, he adds.
The company is the real estate investment and development arm of the Nagel Family Trust, and owns and manages more than 5,000 multifamily units, primarily in Southern California. Stan Jones, Phil Saglimbeni and Sal Saglimbeni of Institutional Property Advisors brokered the Highland Gardens deal.
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