By Jack Stubbs
Irvine, California-based Starboard Realty Advisors, a commercial real estate investment and operating company that focuses on shopping center and Class A/B multifamily apartment properties nationwide, made moves to expand its Puget Sound region portfolio.
On June 29th, the company spent $10.6 million, or about $132,500 per unit, to acquire the Footprint Phinney Apartments in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, King County records show. The seller of the property was La Serena Holdings Inc., a business management consultant based in Snohomish County, Washington.
The transaction—which was recorded on July 2nd—was for two parcels located at 8727 and 8731 Phinney Ave. N. According to public documents, the parcels include two micro-studio congregate-rooming complexes that each contains 40 units. According to the apartments.com property listing for the Footprint Phinney Apartments, which shares the same address as the micro-studio complexes, the studio units average 208 square feet.
Built in 2015, the property sits in close proximity to several other multifamily properties, some of which include the 85-unit Bogtown Flats located at 9039 Greenwood Ave. N.; the five-story, 105-unit Janus Apartments; and the 70-unit Towers on Greenwood Apartments located at 8551 Greenwood Ave. N.
Rents for apartments nearby the Footprint Phinney property for studios (which vary in size from 422 to 428 square feet) range from $925 to $5,625, according to apartments.com.
The two-building Footprint Phinney complex is roughly six miles north of Seattle’s Central Business District via Interstate-5 and about two miles from Greenlake.
In mid-June, the 54-unit Sierra on Greenwood Apartments, located at 11222-11244 Greenwood Ave. N. in close proximity to Footprint Phinney sold for $16.2 million, or approximately $300,000 per unit, with California-based Granite Peak Partners acquiring the property from multifamily investment company Thayer Manca Residential based in Seattle.
In the development pipeline, there are a number of multifamily projects slated for Greenwood that are at various stages in the city’s Design Review process. In February 2018, developer Shea Properties and Runberg Architecture Group—who recently opened its 11-story, 296-unit development called Leeward in South Lake Union—received approval for a 220-unit mixed-use project located at 320 N 85th St.
“We’re really excited about this project. Greenwood is a great neighborhood in Seattle. It’s got a lot of really positive energy, and it’s already a very successful mixed-use community,” said Melissa Wechsler, a principal with Runberg Architecture Group, at the time of the Design Review meeting.
In mid-March 2019, a 270-unit residential complex located at 8704 Greenwood Ave. N.—developed by Washington Holdings and design firm GGLO—was asked to return for a second Design Review meeting, with the team having generated concerned feedback from the Northwest Design Review Board and community members regarding how the project would fit into the neighborhood context.
Founded in 2014, Starboard Realty Advisors primarily acquires multi-tenant retail shopping centers and multi-family properties, offering commercial real estate investment opportunities to Accredited Investors, Family Offices, and Institutional Partners, according to the company’s web site. On the multifamily side, the company looks for properties along the West Coast that range from 50 to 40 units for a transaction value of between $5 million and $50 million.
According to The Registry’s reporting, Starboard Realty was last active in the Puget Sound region’s multifamily market in January 2019 when the company $13.6 million, or approximately $283,333 per unit, to acquire the 48-Unit Madison Vista Apartments in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood from Madison View Flats LLC.
