Security Properties Buys Fourth Multifamily Complex in Metro Phoenix

By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor

Chandler, Ariz.—Security Properties Inc. has acquired the 207-unit Lakeside Village in metro Phoenix. The company paid $16.4 million for the property, which was sold by Toronto-based Rose Lakeside Corp.

Lakeside Village is located along a manmade lake in Chandler that offers catch-and-release fishing—a rarity in metro Phoenix. The property is part of a master-planned development that also includes single-family housing, condominiums and retail space.

The project began as a condominium project, but sales stalled. Of its original 230 units, Rose Lakeside came to own 207 units in 2006, or exactly 90 percent, which it has been renting since then.

Seattle-based Security Properties says that it’s planning to renovate the property’s common areas, in conjunction with the homeowners association. The company will also “substantially renovate” interiors for the 207 units it’s acquiring, and Madrona Ridge Residential, Security Properties’ property management company, will manage the property going forward. All together, about $1.9 million will be spent on the renovations.

Security Properties’ Phoenix portfolio has now grown to four properties for a total of 1,030 units located in Scottsdale, Tempe, and now Chandler. The company notes that the Phoenix-area job market is recovering to the extent that demand for rental housing will rise. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the area added a net of 28,600 jobs in 2011; this year, the net increase is estimated to be more than 40,000.

Major employers in the area include the Intel, which recently committed $300 million to develop a research-and-development facility that will require hundreds of highly skilled workers. Intel is already building a $5.2 billion fabrication plant in Chandler. Other nearby employers include Bank of America and Wells Fargo back office operations.