Bascom, Artemis Buy California Townhome Community

Phoenix Townhomes. Image courtesy of The Bascom Group

The Bascom Group has teamed up with Artemis Real Estate Partners to acquire Phoenix Townhomes, a 248-unit condominium-style apartment community in Fresno, Calif., for $35 million, or $141,129 per unit. Mark Mimms at SVN/MJM & Associates Inc. brokered the deal.

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Located at 5355 N. Valentine Ave., the 18.64-acre complex was completed in 2004. The seller was not identified by the buyers. Data from Yardi Matrix lists the most recent owner as Berry Construction of Madera, Calif., with Clearwater Property Management, at the same address in Madera, as the previous property management firm.

The property is located in the Northern Fresno submarket near West Shaw Avenue and within minutes of State Highways 99, 41 and 180. Phoenix Townhomes is about 6 miles northeast of downtown Fresno and near other major employers including the Internal Revenue Service, Saint Agnes Medical Center, California State University, Fresno, and Kaiser Permanente. The city has also seen the development of three major e-commerce facilities in the past year for Amazon, ULTA Beauty and The Gap Inc. that employ about 4,000 workers. The property is a short drive from numerous shopping, dining and entertainment attractions, including River Park Shopping Center and the Fresno Chafee Zoo.  

Jim Singleton, Bascom’s senior vice president & principal, cited the property’s location, particularly its access to strong employment centers, as among the reasons why Bascom was attracted to the property. The private equity firm has made more than $100 million in acquisitions in Fresno, totaling 2,100 units.

Phoenix Townhomes, which has 99.2 percent occupancy, consists of two- and three-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 1,264 to 1,420 square feet with an average square footage of 1,288. Rents range from $1,241 to $1,385 with an average of $1,243, according to Yardi Matrix data. Community amenities include a swimming pool, wading pool and spa, fitness center, clubhouse and direct access garages available in select units.

Lee Nguyen, senior vice president of portfolio operations, said in a prepared statement the property has value-add potential and plans call for some improvements to be made. Noting that there has been very little new multifamily construction in the submarket in recent years, Nguyen said the property’s large floorplans separate it from other rental properties in the area.

Bascom Summer Deals

Bascom has completed more than $1.5 billion in multifamily transactions throughout the U.S. in the past 12 months and more than $16.2 billion in multifamily and commercial value-added deals since 1996. The firm focuses on investments in 12 states—Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.

In July, Bascom sold the 252-unit Sierra at Fall Creek in Humble, Texas, to F&B Capital, according to Yardi Matrix data. Newmark Knight Frank originated a $23.8 million, 10-year Freddie Mac loan for the new owner. Also in July, Bascom and Oaktree Capital Management sold a 720-unit multifamily portfolio in Las Vegas for $140.2 million.

Bascom teamed up with an affiliate of The Axton Group in June to acquire a pair of adjacent apartment communities totaling 486 units in Colorado Springs, Colo., for $41.2 million.