Catalyst, CalCHA Buy 3 California Properties for $525M

Photo by Julian Myles on Unsplash

Catalyst Housing Group, in partnership with California Community Housing Agency (CalCHA), has completed the acquisition of two Southern California multifamily communities and one Northern California multifamily property. The transactions total $525 million. They enable Catalyst to transition market-rate properties into rent-restricted housing serving the “missing middle” of the housing market. That midsection is made up of households with incomes exceeding limits of traditional affordable housing, but insufficient to comfortably afford market-rate multifamily housing.

The two Southern California apartment communities are Next on Lex and Brio Apartment Homes, about a mile apart within the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.

Displacement avoided

The properties feature nearly 700 units between them. The acquisition will ensure existing residents of the communities will not be displaced. It will also provide the city of Glendale with hundreds of additional much-needed rent-restricted housing units.

Both Next on Lex and Brio are Class A properties constructed within the past decade, and both offer immediate access to downtown Glendale. Features and finishes at Next on Lex include hardwood floors, walk-in closets, island kitchens, in-unit washer-dryers and air conditioning. Amenities include a heated 75-foot, two-lane lap swimming pool.

Brio’s residences offer granite countertops, walk-in closets, loft layouts, dishwashers and air conditioning. The amenity list includes an outdoor amphitheater.

Catalyst and CalCHA also expanded their Northern California portfolio with the addition of the 309-unit Creekwood Apartments in Hayward. Apartments feature balconies, hardwood floors, granite countertops, in-unit washer-dryers and walk-in closets. A Zen Garden is a highlight of the amenities offering. The JV will undertake significant renovations to address deferred maintenance, modernize building systems, create tech-forward smart home units and improve common-area amenities. At the same time, rents will be substantially reduced for middle-income residents.

Last month, one company’s California portfolio turned in positive sequential rent growth, suggesting the worst might be over for the hard-hit Los Angeles area.