Equity Residential Sells San Francisco Apartments for $304M
This marks the sixth purchase for the joint venture between OHG and CSCDA.
Wood Creek Apartments. Image courtesy of Opportunity Housing Group
Opportunity Housing Group (OHG), in partnership with the California Statewide Communities Development Authority (CSCDA), has acquired Wood Creek Apartments in the San Francisco Bay area from Equity Residential for $304 million. The 484-unit apartment community is in Pleasant Hill, Calif.
The 49-building Wood Creek Apartments, located at 637 Stonebridge Way, was constructed in 1987 on 16.4 acres of land in Contra Costa County. The property is well landscaped with a series of man-made water features throughout the grounds.
“Pleasant Hill is an excellent market for our middle-income housing program with its high quality of living and access to strong jobs markets throughout the Bay Area. Wood Creek is a well-located and well-maintained asset with scale that can quickly bring rent savings to 484 units. The jobs to housing ratio of 4.3 jobs per housing unit in the Bay Area creates a fundamental undersupply of housing for the Bay Area, particularly the 30 percent of Bay Area residents that fall into the missing middle,” Lauren Seaver, president of OHG, told Multi-Housing News.
Wood Creek Apartments offers one- and two-bedroom units, averaging 1,013 square feet. Apartment amenities include semi-private entry, vaulted ceilings, washer and dryers, patios or balconies, air conditioning, dishwashers, ceiling fans, wood-burning fireplaces and private balconies/patios in select units. Resident amenities feature three pools and spas, a fitness center, private garages that provide one individual garage space per unit, a playground and a barbecue and picnic area.
The property is adjacent to the former John F. Kennedy University, which closed operations in January 2021. It is close to the Bay Area Rapid Transit’s Pleasant Hill/Contra Costa Centre Station, downtown Pleasant Hill and Sun Valley Mall.
The CSCDA provides California’s local governments with an effective tool for the timely financing of community-based public benefit projects. OHG serves as the project administrator and asset manager, overseeing Wood Creek Apartments on behalf of the CSCDA.
Wood Creek Apartments is the sixth asset purchased by OHG and the CSCDA across Northern and Southern California in 2021, with more than $900 million in bonds issued for transactions. The acquisitions include the 277-unit The Acacia on Santa Rosa Creek in Santa Rosa and the 261-unit MODA at Monrovia Station in Monrovia.
Workforce Housing Program
The portfolio of approximately 1,600 apartments, previously rented at market rates, are now preserved for middle-income workers under the CSCDA’s Workforce Housing Program. One-third of the units at Wood Creek Apartments will be rented to individuals and families earning no greater than 80 percent of AMI, one-third will be rented to those earning no greater than 100 percent of AMI and one-third will be rented to those earning no greater than 120 percent of AMI.
OHG and CSCDA expect an even greater pace of transactions this year. The partners have been sought out by sellers that have heard about the program and want to work with investors like OHG that have experience with the city approval and bond process.
“The renter demand for affordable housing in well-located markets across the state is insatiable and this program is one of the only tools that exists to solve this critical issue,” said Seaver.
