NY Investor Praedium Buys Inland Empire Apartments

Moreno Valley, Calif.—The Praedium Group has acquired the 394-unit Villas at Towngate Apartments in Moreno Valley, Calif. The New York-based company paid $68.5 million for the asset.

Developed in 2006, the property consists of 13 two- and three-story buildings spread across 19.7 acres. Common amenities include a resort-style swimming pool, a clubhouse with a movie-theater and lounge, outdoor barbecue grills and garage parking. Individual apartments are equipped with full-size washers and dryers, central AC, gas cooktops and private balconies in some units.

Moreno Valley is part of the greater Los Angeles metro area. The city is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population, and one of the Inland Empire’s population centers.

“The Inland Empire continues to experience tremendous job growth,” noted Kelsey Durels, associate of the Praedium Group. For example, Amazon recently completed a 2 million square-foot fulfillment center, which has created 3,000 jobs. Skechers opened a 1.8 million square-foot fulfillment center in 2012, which employs about 1,500 people.

Praedium concentrates on middle-market assets that have been neglected by traditional institutional investors for one reason or another, though its investments are mixed: multifamily, office, retail, industrial and mixed-use properties, in all levels of the capital structure. This year it has bought apartments in Phoenix and Portland, Ore.