By Jack Stubbs
Last week on Wednesday, January 10th, Irvine, California-based Sares Regis Group purchased the 139-unit Monterra in Mill Creek Apartments for $39 million, or approximately $280,575 per unit, according to public records filed with Snohomish county. Sares Regis, a western U.S. real estate investor and developer, acquired the asset from Chicago-based Equity Residential, a publicly traded REIT that invests in apartment properties nationwide. The transaction was recorded on January 16th.
The three-story Monterra in Mill Creek Apartments complex was built in 2001 and contains 139 units, according to the property listing on apartments.com. The complex offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The one-bedroom units range from 761 to 860 square feet and rent for between $1,248 and $1,453; the two-bedroom units total 1,026 square feet; and the three-bedroom units are 1,173 square feet and rent for between $1,912 and $1,992. The in-unit amenities include walk-in closets, fireplace and washer/dryer; the property also includes a fitness center and playground.
Located at 13401 Dumas Rd., the property is roughly two miles north of the Mill Creek Town Center. The apartment complex is three miles from Martha Lake and approximately four miles from access to Interstate-5. Additionally, the asset sits within one mile of several other apartment complexes, including the 284-unit Hawthorne Apartments; the 240-unit Parkwood at Mill Creek Apartments; and the 266-unit Heatherwood Apartments in Bothell.
Sares Regis Group, founded in 1993 through the alliance of two companies, The Regis Group and The SARES Company, acquires and manages commercial as well as residential assets. Since 1994, the company has been active in the commercial sector, having successfully developed and acquired more than 78 properties totaling over 35 million square feet (that have an an aggregate value of roughly $2.53 billion) according to the company’s web site. The company’s commercial properties span the sector, including warehouse, distribution and manufacturing properties, master-planned and mixed-use parks, research and development facilities, and multi-tenant industrial business parks.
Over the years, Sares Regis has produced more than 20,000 multi family homes. Since 1993, the company’s investment division has developed or acquired approximately 9,000 apartments and condominium homes, according to its web site.
The capture of the Monterra Apartments is the latest chapter in the company’s presence in the greater Seattle area: the company acquired the 155-unit Martha Lake Apartments in Lynnwood for $34.8 million from Chicago-based Waterton.
Over the last couple of years, the company has solidified its presence in the Puget Sound region. In March 2016, the company received a $50 million commitment from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Fund for its SARES-REGIS Multifamily Value-Add Fund II, a commingled fund that has both Northern California and greater Seattle among its targeted investment markets. More recently, in August 2016, the Multifamily Value-Add Fund held a final close, having raised over $300 million in total equity commitments. Utilizing leverage, the Fund will seek to acquire approximately $850 million of assets in its target markets.
Founded in 1969, Equity Residential is a company that focuses on the acquisition, development and management of apartment communities across the U.S. The company currently owns or has investments in 302 properties consisting of 77,498 apartment units located primarily in Boston, New York, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, according to its web site.
Some of the company’s other properties north of Seattle include the 200-unit Providence Apartments and 144-unit Ivorywood Apartments, both located in Bothell; and the Heritage Ridge Apartments, a 197-unit property in Lynnwood.
