By Jack Stubbs
There have been several transactions in the Snohomish County city of Everett in recent months, and two more properties earlier this week changed hands.
On Wednesday, November 14th, New York-based Castle Lanterra Properties—a real estate investment company that focuses on the acquisition and management of workforce and multifamily housing throughout the U.S.—acquired The Lumen Apartments and a commercial office building for a combined $22.575 million, Snohomish County records show. The seller of the properties was Potala Village LLC, an entity based in Seattle.
The buyer did not respond to emailed requests for comment about the transaction in time for the publishing of this story.
The transaction included two adjacent buildings, according to public documents. One of these is the four-story, 108-unit Lumen Apartments (formerly named Potala Village) located at 1315 Pacific Ave. According to the property listing on Castle Lanterra Properties’ web site, the asset is built to Green Certification and also features a 3,000 square foot rooftop as well as two levels of below-ground parking. Retail tenants include the Mazatlán Mexican eatery, a health clinic and an engineering firm.
According to the property listing on apartments.com, the asset offers a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units that range from 431 to 917 square feet and rent for between $1,125 and $1,695.
The other property included in the transaction is a portion of the lot that includes The Rucker Building, located at 3020 Rucker Avenue in the Port Gardner neighborhood of Everett. According to Google Maps, current tenants in the Rucker Building include the Snohomish Health District and an IRS Office, but the purchase did not include the building, just a portion of the land.
The two properties are approximately half a mile west of downtown Everett, six miles from Mukilteo and roughly one mile from access to Interstate-5. The asset is also approximately six miles north of Paine Field Airport—located at 3220 100th St. SW—which is set to change the fabric of Everett. Major airlines Alaska, United and Southwest have already announced planned service to and from the airport, (which is scheduled to begin hosting commercial flights sometime in early 2019), which will accommodate up to 2,350 daily passengers.
Along with the recent sale of the Lumen Apartments and the Rucker office building, there has been a significant amount of activity across the multifamily market in Everett over the last few months.
SeaLevel Properties on June 18th spent $7 million to acquire a 5.44-acre site within the Port of Everett’s 65-acre Waterfront Place Central mixed-use project from the Port of Everett. The project, slated for completion in 2020, is located at 1300 W. Marine View Drive and will include 266 units of housing.
As another example of the evolving multifamily sector in Everett, in late March 2018, Northwest Washington’s behavioral healthcare leader Compass Health received $4.5 million in funding from the Washington State Housing Trust Fund to help finance an 82-unit affordable housing project located at 3300 Lombard Ave. for people with chronic behavioral issues, which is also scheduled for completion sometime in 2020.
Castle Lanterra Properties focuses on the acquisition and management of workforce and multifamily properties within strategic growth markets throughout the U.S., according to the company’s web site. Through a rigorous value-enhancement program that includes renovations, operational improvements and ancillary income development, the company aims to reposition each asset with the goal of maximizing net operating income.
