TODAY’S DEALS: AvalonBay Sells Two D.C. Area Assets for $332M

Arlington, Va.—AvalonBay Communities Inc. has completed the disposition of two communities located in the Washington, D.C., metro area. The company sold Avalon Decoverly, a 564-unit community located in Rockville, Md., and Crystal House, an 828-unit asset located in Arlington. AvalonBay had acquired Crystal House on February 27, 2013, as part of the Archstone Transaction. Crystal House was picked up by a joint venture of Mack-Cali and a fund advised by UBS Global Asset Management for $262.5 million.

AvalonBay’s sale of Crystal House represented the firm’s interest in the leasehold improvements on the site, and it carried a price of $197 million. Avalon Decoverly was sold for $135 million. The weighted average initial year market capitalization for the two sales was 5.2 percent.

Decron breaks ground in Los Angeles

Playa Del Oro North

Los Angeles—Decron Properties Corp. has broken ground on the final phase of its Playa Del Oro mixed-use project in Los Angeles’ Westchester neighborhood. The firm has picked commercial builder Bernards to construct the $67 million project, which was financed by a loan provided by Wells Fargo and arranged by Meridian Capital Group. Van Tilburg, Banvard, & Soderbergh, AIA, are the architects.

The project is located on a 13-acre site at the corner of Manchester Avenue and Lincoln Avenue. Playa Del Oro North includes 260 additional rental units, 5,000 square feet of retail space and 515 parking stalls. Community amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center, sauna, cinema screening room, business center, game room, café lounge with outdoor view terrace, a dog park and three landscaped courtyards with water features. Construction is scheduled for completion in fall 2014.

The first phase of this project, which replaced the Furama Hotel, was completed in 2009 and included 405 apartment units and 27,000 square feet of retail, which is currently occupied by a health club and four restaurants.

NorthMarq arranges $20.617M in FHA financing

Mount Dora, Fla.—Ryan Whitaker, vice president of NorthMarq’s Jacksonville regional office, arranged first mortgage refinancing of $20.62 million for Hammock Oaks Apartments, a 280-unit, market-rate multifamily community located at 3550 Lake Center Drive in Mount Dora, Fla. Financing was based on a 35-year term and a 35-year amortization schedule and was arranged for the borrower by NorthMarq through its relationship with an FHA lender.