By Jack Stubbs
San Francisco real estate investment firm Sack Properties—whose initial focus was towards multifamily residential properties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and since 2018 has expanded further north into Oregon and Washington—recently made moves to expand its Puget Sound region portfolio.
On June 20th—as part of three separate transactions which were recently recorded—the company spent a combined $141.9 million to acquire the Mill at Mill Creek Apartments—a property which includes the 136-unit Chelsea Pointe Apartments—from New York-based investment firm Blackstone Group, according to Snohomish County records.
The recent exchange occurred as three separate transactions, according to public documents, with the overall sales price of $141.9 million comprised of three separate sales of $108.6 million, $19.9 million and $13.4 million. Each of the three transactions pertained to various addresses for the Mill at Mill Creek Apartments, a property located at 111 – 1132158th Place SE and 1200 – 1328 Mill Creek Blvd.
The buyer did not respond to calls for comment about the recent sale in time for the publishing of this story, and the seller declined to comment on the transaction.
The Mill at Mill Creek Apartments is a two-story property comprised of 570 units and built in 1983, according to the property listing on apartments.com. The property offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom units that range from 644 to 918 square feet and rent for between $1,189 and $3,197. The property features a surface parking lot, three seasonal outdoor pools, an on-site fitness center and outdoor spa.
One of the properties included within the Mill at Mill Creek Apartment complex is the Chelsea Pointe Apartments located at 1029 156th Place SE, a property that contains 136 units and sits on just under three acres, according to Snohomish County records.
Located adjacent to the Mill Creek Nature Private Preserve and roughly one mile from downtown Mill Creek, the asset’s location is one of its primary draws, according to the property listing, which highlights the inspiration that the complex draws from the surrounding character of the Puget Sound region.
“The Mill at Mill Creek is a sophisticated apartment community nestled in the rugged natural beauty of the Northwest. The Mill creates the perfect balance between adventure and relaxation. Our unbeatable location means that you can take advantage of everything downtown Seattle has to offer, while still having golf courses, local shopping and over 200 acres of parks at your doorstep,” the description on apartments.com‘s web site states.
The property is roughly twenty miles north of downtown Seattle via Interstate-5 and seven miles north of the growing cities of Bothell and Kenmore.
Since its founding 1958 until 2012, Sack Properties’ strategy focused on multifamily real estate investments in the San Francisco Bay Area, with strong environmental regulations limiting new developments and a growing population increasing the demand for rental units, according to the company’s web site. With the company’s introduction of its first commingled fund in 2012, Sack Properties expanded its geographic focus to include similar markets like Oregon and Washington State.
In June 2017, at which time Sack Properties owned a total of thirteen properties comprising 1,500 units throughout Northern and Southern California with a portfolio valued at $500 million, with company was looking to grow its multifamily business on the West Coast, and hired a new director of acquisitions and dispositions to lead the firm’s growing operations throughout the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest, according to a press release issued by the company.
Blackstone Group, one of the world’s leading investment firms, has made moves to expand its own Puget Sound region portfolio in recent months. On June 6th, the company spent $93 million, or approximately $206,666 per unit, to acquire the 450-unit River Trail Apartments in the Pierce County city of Puyallup from Bellevue-based American Capital Group Inc.
Along with the recent sale of the Mill at Mill Creek Apartments, there have been a number of multifamily property sales over the last several months in areas around Mill Creek. Following up on its recent acquisition of the 311-Unit Mark on Fourth Apartments in Everett for $76 million (or about $244,372 per unit) from San Diego-based Fairfield Residential, Dallas-based Mill Creek Residential Trust in mid-April made another purchase, acquiring the 132-unit Beacon at Center Apartments in Everett for $29 million, or roughly $219,696 per unit, according to Snohomish County records.
In mid-May 2019, Connecticut-based Barings Real Estate Advisers sold the 280-Unit Stonemeadow Farms Apartments in Bothell for $81.8 million, or approximately $292,142 per unit, to LIPT 27th Ave. SE LLC.
