TODAY’S DEALS: D.C.-Area Community Sells for $93 Million

AION Partners and The Carlyle Group acquire a 570-unit community for $93 million; a private investment group buys a San Francisco portfolio for $44 million; and Hendricks & Partners participates in the sale of a 39-unit property.

Cityside Huntington Metro

Alexandria, Va.—Strong operating conditions have kept transaction velocity high in the Washington, D.C., metro area over recent months. The acquisition of Cityside Huntington Metro by equity company AION Partners and global alternative asset manager The Carlyle Group is yet another sign of the market’s strength and growth potential.

The 570-unit mid-rise apartment complex, which was built in 1964 and 1974 as Belle Haven Towers Apartments, is located one mile south of Old Town Alexandria and seven miles south of the Central Business District in D.C. Belle Haven Towers is currently 96 percent occupied, just a bit higher than the first quarter market-wide occupancy of 95.1 percent published in a recent report by Marcus & Millichap. The same release predicts that effective rent will jump up 5.5 percent in 2011. AION and Carlyle will immediately implement a $9.5 million capital improvement plan to update the property and individual units. The Bainbridge Companies with serve as the new property manager.

“We are pleased to partner with AION on this investment,” says Chip Lippman, managing director of The Carlyle Group. “Long-term residential housing fundamentals are strong in the D.C. metropolitan area, and we believe this prime property will be a solid investment.”

“The excellent location and quality of original construction makes it an attractive investment for AION Partners, allowing us to utilize our hands-on asset management expertise to execute on the capital improvement program, improve the lifestyle of current and future residents and enhance the property’s value,” says Michael Betancourt, principal at AION.

Eight-property San Francisco portfolio sells for $44M

San Francisco—A new private investment group headed by Greg Galli of the Woodmont Companies, Wayne Levenfeld of Pacific Valley Investors and Linda Law of Lee & Associates have acquired a portfolio of eight premium buildings in San Francisco from the Lembi Group. The direct transaction carried a purchased price of approximately $44 million. The assets were located in Pacific Heights, Noe Valley, Russian Hill and Cole Valley neighborhoods. The portfolio contains a total of 160 units.

The group had been working on the sale for over a year and closed the transaction just days before the properties were auctioned off in the courts. The acquisition will be used as a platform to acquire more properties within the city. Lembi, Blackrock and LNR Corp were all involved in the transaction.

“We watched this market from the sidelines for over a decade,” says Greg Galli of Woodmont Companies. “The unfortunate circumstances of the previous ownership created an unprecedented opportunity for us to achieve scale in a very difficult market to enter.”

Hendricks & Partners participates in sale of 39-unit property

Auburn, Wash.–Hendricks & Partners brokered the sale of the 39-unit Auburn Pines, located at 505 & 515 N. Division Street in Auburn, Wash.

Auburn Pines is a garden-style community that was built in 1967. The property includes five one-bedroom and 34 two-bedroom units and is located near Auburn Regional Medical Center.

The seller was HMS Land LLC of Seattle, and the buyer was Auburn Pines LLC of Seattle. The transaction was negotiated by Tim Ufkes of the Seattle office of Hendricks & Partners on behalf of the seller.