Waterton Associates Returns to Portland Market with LaSalle Apartments
After a five-year absence in the area, Chicago-based Waterton Associates has re-entered the Portland market with the acquisition of the 554-unit LaSalle Apartments, located at 15021 SW Millikan Way in Beaverton, Ore.
By Keith Loria, Contributing Writer
Beaverton, Ore.—After a five-year absence in the area, Chicago-based Waterton Associates has re-entered the Portland market with the acquisition of the 554-unit LaSalle Apartments, located at 15021 SW Millikan Way in Beaverton, Ore.
“We owned Cortland Village in Hillsboro and sold that in 2007. Since then, we haven’t had any presence in Portland, until now,” Peter Kuzma, senior acquisitions analyst, Waterton Associates, tells MHN. “We felt that this property was the perfect opportunity for us to reenter the Portland multifamily market.”
Waterton purchased LaSalle Apartments from Equity Residential for $77.2 million or $139,350 per unit. The three-story, 31 building complex was built in 1998 and 1999 and includes 554 apartments consisting of one-, two- and three-bedroom garden-style units, as well as townhomes.
“It has a variety of unit types and caters to a great group of residents,” Kuzma says. “It’s all adjacent to the MAX line, so you can walk there from the property and be downtown in 15 minutes.”
In addition to the convenience of the light rail system, the community’s proximity to jobs, along with its value-add component were other major factors in the purchase.
“Its location next to Nike World Headquarters is a great driver and Tektronix is just down the street,” Kuzma says. “Location wise, we are very fond of the space.”
The pet-friendly community has a number of great amenities, including two clubhouses, two 24-hour fitness centers, a playground, barbeque pits, two pools and a Jacuzzi. Other conveniences include detached garages, patios or balconies and furnished full-size washers and dryers.
Plus, Waterton plans to implement several updates to the units over the course of the next year.
“Being that they were built in 1998, the units are in great shape and normally, we wouldn’t need renovations,” Kuzma says. “But we see some upgrading potential and we’ve come up with plan to go in and add custom flooring, kitchen appliances and a lighting and plumbing package to bring them up to a more modern spec and add some like into the property.”
Waterton now owns properties in 12 states, comprised of more than 16,000 apartment homes in 42 communities. Looking ahead, the company’s strategy is to target Portland, Seattle, Northern California, Texas, Colorado and Georgia.
“This was our second asset purchased this year and our strategy is to target value-driven properties,” Kuzma says. “We are on our 11th venture and LaSalle fits the mode of a newer vintage asset that has potential that we can add to.”
