By Jon Peterson
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA) has made the decision to transfer the management of the 173-unit Tower 801 apartment complex in Seattle from Chicago-based Capri Capital Partners to New York City-based DWS.
The apartment complex is located at 801 Pine Street. Capri Capital had acquired the property in October of 2012 for $50.1 million, or around $290,000 per unit. The appraised value of the property in 2019 was $77 million, according to city tax documents.
This property is one of four apartment assets around the country that is being transferred to DWS. These complexes have a combined market value of $534.6 million, as stated by LACERA in a board meeting document. The other properties are located in Dallas, Houston and Marina Del Rey, Calif.
LACERA has made this decision on the apartment portfolio as it hopes it will lead to better property performance. The pension fund stated in a board meeting document that board-approved asset management changes are under implementation at the moment. These changes are expected to enhance performance as under-performing manages are replaced.
The move made by the pension fund will not mean a total end to its relationship with Capri Capital. LACERA is an investor in Capri Urban Investors, a close-ended high-return commingled fund. It’s not clear if this fund owns any assets in the Seattle market.
There is a total of five assets in this commingled fund with a net asset value of $375 million. One of the assets is an apartment development that has recently been completed. This property is now being marketed for sale and is expected to generate a return to LACERA of around 12 percent. The other four assets are all core apartment complexes.
