Security Properties Acquires Seattle-Area Community for $92M

Martingale Apartments. Image courtesy of JLL

Security Properties has acquired Martingale, a 240-unit community in Lacey, Wash., for $92 million. The seller was The Wolff Co.

Built in 2020, the Class A community offers studio, one- and two-bedroom units that average 849 square feet and are spread throughout 10 buildings. Most of the units were built with walk-in closets, washers and dryers and patios or balconies, while select units have high ceilings, kitchen islands and carports and garages. Martingale’s amenities include a fitness studio, conference room, community kitchen, outdoor lounge and package lockers.

Located at 8675 Litt Drive SE, the community is across the street from the Hawks Prairie Village Mall, a shopping center anchored by Safeway. Residents are also 5 miles east of Olympia and within driving distance to the area’s many outdoor recreational activities that includes a wildlife refuge, public parkland, golf courses and lakes. The community is 93 percent occupied, Alex Gauper, director at Security Properties, told Multi-Housing News.

The Martingale acquisition follows another multifamily portfolio purchase between the same two parties earlier this month. Security Properties acquired the two-property portfolio in Edgewood and Everett, Wash., for nearly $200 million.

LONG-TERM PLANS

As for Martingale, Security Properties considers the acquisition a long-term yield investment where it will conduct light upgrades over time. According to the new ownership, the community already has a strong amenity package and well-designed units, but there are some opportunities to emphasize some of the community’s features.

Gauper told MHN that the upgrades will be very minor, like adding a kitchen tile backsplash and under cabinet lighting to all units. Gauper added that there are some immediate actions that Security Properties will undertake, which are mostly basic wear and tear items with minimal dollar values. The new ownership is also putting its affiliate Security Properties Residential in charge of managing Martingale.

With its latest acquisition, Security Properties now owns 27 assets totaling more than 5,900 units in the Puget Sound region. The company has been headquartered in Seattle for more than 50 years and continues to be bullish on the future investment prospects of high-quality and well-located communities in and around the Seattle metro, Gauper told MHN. Gauper added that the area’s fundamentals showed strong population growth and rent growth while also having low future apartment deliveries and stable employment drivers.