Bascom Group Purchases Value-Add Property in SoCal for $53M
The buyer is planning a host of renovations for the vintage property.
The Bascom Group is expanding its Orange County portfolio with the $53.1 million acquisition of Castlewood Park Apartments, an 183-unit, value-add multifamily community in Buena Park, Calif.
Following the trade, Bascom plans to make interior renovations and amenity enhancements to the property, which was completed in 1963. SD-Cap will oversee the upgrades. The firm will also add full-time onsite management, which will be provided by AMC.
Brightspire Capital Inc. provided the acquisition loan to Bascom in a transaction arranged by Institutional Property Advisors Capital Markets Executive Managing Director Brian Eisendrath, Senior Managing Director Cameron Chalfant and Managing Directors Jesse Zarouk and Jake Vitta. An IPA Investment Sales team led by Executive Managing Directors Kevin Green and Joe Grabiec represented the seller.
Closer look at Castlewood
The most recent owner of Castlewood, located at 6968 Campus Drive was Leonard Carlin, a private investor who acquired the asset in February 1994 for $7.9 million, according to Yardi Matrix information. The asset became subject to a $24 million loan originated in February 2018 by Banc of California, the same source shows.
Castlewood has 46 two-story, garden-style buildings spanning 8.7 acres. The community has a mix of two, three- and four-bedroom apartments with an average floorplan of 1,028 square feet. Rents range from $2,317 to $3,538, with an average of $2,657, according to Yardi Matrix data. Select units have washer/dryer hookups, and the community also has three laundry facilities.
The property has garages for every unit and private yards for approximately 60 percent of residences. Castlewood has two swimming pools and a tennis/pickleball court.
Situated in North Orange County, the community has immediate access to the 5 and 91 freeways, offering residents connectivity to major employment centers throughout Orange County and Los Angeles.
Continued renter demand in strong market
Chad Sanderson, senior principal at Bascom, said in prepared remarks that institutional investors have become increasingly selective toward older apartment assets, which creates buying opportunities for experienced value-add operators. He said Bascom believes well-located, older vintage are being discounted more than justified by fundamentals.
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Kidder Mathews reports the Orange County multifamily vacancy rate was 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, up 50 basis points from 3.8 percent year-over-year and up slightly from 4.0 percent in the first quarter of the year. Despite the increase, Orange County remains among the lowest-vacancy markets in major California metros, according to Kidder Mathews second quarter 2026 Orange County multifamily report.
The average monthly asking rent was $2,727, up 1.8 percent from the second quarter of 2025. Net absorption totaled 1,615 units for the first half of the year, up 29.8 percent compared to 1,255 units absorbed over the same period in 2025, reflecting continued renter demand, Kidder Mathews reported.
Recent Bascom deals
Following the interest rate increases of 2022 and 2023, Bascom has remained active and deployed capital, particularly after the multifamily pricing reset . Since the interest rates began rising, Bascom has acquired 13 communities totaling 3,231 units for more than $930 million. Purchases this year include Domain 3201, a 289-unit community in Tucson, Ariz., acquired in May for $45.5 million. The 12.5-acre asset was built between 1985 and 1986.
A month earlier, Bascom acquired The Ellison, a 294-unit property in Las Vegas for $103 million. The seller was Lyon Living, according to Yardi Matrix. The Ellison opened in 2024 and Bascom said it planned to complete the lease-up at the community following the acquisition.
In January, Bascom purchased Retreat at Speedway, a 304-unit community completed in Tucson in 2001, for $53.4 million, through Bascom Value Added Apartment Investors VI.
Since 1996, Bascom has acquired more than 369 multifamily communities across 20 states, with the first 42 purchases coming mostly in Southern California, primarily Orange County. Bascom has extensive experience repositioning older vintage properties like Castlewood in Buena Park. The company has completed approximately $110 million worth of renovations across 44 properties and more than 8,000 apartments.
