FPA Multifamily Pays $61M for Seattle-Area Asset

FPA Multifamily has paid $60.5 million for Atrium on James, a 300-unit community in Kent, Wash., a Seattle submarket. A tenants in common managed by Open House Westwood LLC sold the property. Institutional Property Advisors represented the seller and procured the buyer.

FPA purchased the property on behalf of its Opportunity Fund VII. The garden-style asset previously traded in 2008, when Equity Residential sold it for $35.6 million, according to Yardi Matrix data.

The 1989-completed community consists of 21 three-story buildings spread across 21.5 acres. Apartments are available in one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, ranging from 611 to 1,087 square feet, and feature washers, dryers, walk-in closets and private balconies or patios.

Common-area amenities include a barbecue and picnic area, clubhouse, fitness center, business center, courtyard and tennis court. The property also has a swimming pool, a spa and a TV lounge, along with two playgrounds.

Atrium on James is at 6248 S. 242nd Place, next to Hogan Park at Russel Road. Crossgate Shopping Center and the Kent Station shopping mall are within 2 miles, while Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is 7.3 miles northwest. Downtown Seattle is some 19 miles away.

IPA Executive Directors Giovanni Napoli and Philip Assouad, together with Senior Associate Ryan Harmon, Associate Nicholas Ruggiero and Vice President Anthony Palladino, worked on behalf of the seller. In October, the same team represented RISE Properties in the $61.6 million sale of a 192-unit community in Everett, Wash.

FPA’s Seattle expansion

FPA currently owns more than 1,430 multifamily units in Seattle, according to Yardi Matrix information. Last year, the company paid $80 million for a 304-unit community located half a mile from Atrium on James.

Another 155 units entered FPA’s Seattle inventory in 2022, when the firm purchased two multifamily properties from Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. The assets changed hands for $41.5 million.

Multifamily transactions in the Emerald City

According to Yardi Matrix information, 30 communities—or 3,954 units—traded last year in the Emerald City for a combined $1.2 billion, a steep decline from the 82 properties that changed hands in 2022 for almost $4.6 billion. The price per unit also dropped year-over-year through December, from $384,290 to $319,431.

One of the most significant deals of last year in the metro was Jackson Square Properties’ acquisition of a 360-unit luxury property. The company paid $125 million for the 2021-completed asset.