RISE Properties is at it again. After making three sizable apartment community acquisitions in the Puget Sound region this year, the company just invested nearly $100 million to acquire the Alaire Apartment Homes in Renton from Palo Alto, Calif.-based Pacific Urban Residential. RISE spent $97.5 million, or just over $273,109 per unit, for the 357-unit community located at 611 SW Fifth Ct. The property was purchased in partnership with Tokyu Land US Corporation.
The Renton sale comes at a time when a pair of apartment complexes with 880 units in the city traded a week ago for a total of $280 million. The buyer of those properties was Colorado-based Griffis Residential, which purchased the Reserve Apartments and Sanctuary Apartments in the Puget Sound city south of Seattle and Bellevue.
The Pacific Urban sale was brokered by Giovanni Napoli and Philip Assouad of Kidder Mathews along with Dave Schumacher of Colliers International – all of which represented the seller.
Alaire is a community that enjoys easy access to multiple interstates and freeways and offers connectivity to the region’s major employment hubs on the Eastside’s high-tech core, Bellevue, the Seattle Central Business District, Southcenter, SeaTac and Kent Valley.
The project, which offers some of the largest floor plans in the area that average ±1,074 square feet, was pitched as a value-add opportunity to potential buyers. The complex is almost entirely comprised of two-bedroom/two-bathroom and three-bedroom/two-bathroom units. It offers a newly renovated clubhouse, a state-of-the art fitness center, as well as a fully equipped business center, conference room and private offices. There are also two pools and other outdoor amenities.
“Alaire’s location gives residents a short commute to either Seattle or Bellevue,” said Barrett Sigmund, president at RISE in a statement. “Despite the close-in location, the property has a low-density feel and large units that are not common with newer product. The current owner significantly upgraded the exterior and the extensive common area amenities of the property. RISE will take the asset to the next level with a thoughtful interior renovation program and a focus on customer service.”
Built in 1988, Alaire is located approximately 11 miles from Seattle and Bellevue. The asset is two miles from Renton’s The Landing, a lifestyle center that boasts more than 30 restaurants and totals more than 600,000 square feet of mixed-use retail. Notably, Alaire is similarly proximate to Southport, a development on South Lake Washington that includes a newly constructed 348-room Hyatt Regency, as well as an adjacent set of newly constructed office buildings that total approximately 700,000 square feet. The property is also a short walk to neighborhood retail including Fred Meyer, Safeway and Walmart.
Nobuhide Kashiwagi, president of Tokyu, stated, “we are excited about this opportunity as it is a great fit for the first acquisition of our value-add strategy in the Pacific Northwest. We like the trajectory of growth in the Seattle market and feel Alaire is well positioned to capture that momentum.”
“Alaire is one the first institutional garden multifamily assets south of the core markets. As residents continue to seek affordability at quality communities that provide convenience and ease of accessibility to major employment hubs, properties like Alaire should capture more growth compared to other assets that are further removed or don’t have the desirable aesthetics or amenities that Alaire provide,” said Kidder agents Napoli and Assouad.
The property will be managed by Thrive Communities, a Seattle-based property management firm with approximately 10,000 apartments under management.
RISE Properties has been very active in the greater Seattle market over the last few years, acquiring just this year three apartment complexes for a total of $181 million. This acquisition is the company’s largest in 2018, according to The Registry’s reporting.
In August of 2018, RISE spent $69 million to acquire the 135-unit Modera Capitol Hill Apartments in Seattle. This was preceded by an April acquisition of 241-unit Rainier Pointe Apartments in Fife for $39.5 million and a $72.45 million purchase of the 239-unit West Ridge Park Apartments in West Seattle.
