By Jack Stubbs
The city of Tacoma in Pierce County has in recent months seen a significant amount of investment in the multifamily market, as investors continuing to eye the city on the banks of the Puget Sound with interest. In late September, CWS Capital Partners spent just over $100 million to buy six different commercial and residential properties at Point Ruston in Tacoma.
And on Friday, November 16th, the Walker Apartments sold for $11 million, or roughly $354,838 per unit, Pierce County records show. The buyer was Mayer Built Homes Inc., a family-run homebuilding business based in Tacoma, and the seller was Ethos Property Group LLC, a commercial real estate investment firm based on Bainbridge Island.
The buyer did not respond to emailed requests for comment about the transaction in time for the publishing of this story.
The eight-story Walker Apartments, located at 405 Sixth Ave. just south of the Stadium District in Tacoma, was built in 1927 and contains 31 units, according to the property listing on apartments.com. The asset offers on-site property management and controlled access, while units feature stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Two-bedroom units at the property average 1,427 square feet. Rent ranges for similar apartment complexes in the area average between $1,202 and $1,900, according to the apartments.com web site.
The asset is just blocks from the edge of Commencement Bay and approximately five miles south of Point Ruston.
Originally established in 1957, Mayer Built Homes was reestablished by Joe Mayer in 1992. Since 1992, the company has built almost 100 single-family residences in Pierce County, and has also developed raw land for subdivisions, according to its web site. The company currently has homes available Northeast Tacoma and Gig Harbor.
Mayer Built Homes’ capture of the Walker Apartments comes several months after the company purchased another home in Des Moines earlier this year. In early April, the company paid Bellevue-based Curtis Capital Group $17.2 million, or approximately $181,052 per unit, for the 95-unit Des Moines Station Apartments located at 2060 S Kent-Des Moines Road.
Along with the recent sale of the Walker Apartments, there have been several other apartment transactions over the last few weeks. On August 7th, the 397-unit Drake Apartments in Tacoma sold for $29.88 million, or approximately $75,264 per unit. More recently in late September, several commercial and residential properties at Point Ruston in Tacoma changed hands. On September 28th, Newport Beach, California-based CWS Capital Partners acquired six different properties at the Point Ruston waterfront resort—including the 173-unit Copperline at Point Ruston Apartments—for a combined $101.3 million from Century Condominiums LLC.
