Douglas Emmett dives into multifamily pool with $365M resi buy in Westwood

Douglas Emmett has added a 350-unit residential and retail complex in Westwood to its large Westside portfolio.

The Santa Monica-based real estate investment trust paid Clarion Partners $365 million for The Glendon at 1060 Glendon Avenue, it said in announcing the acquisition. The REIT intends to complete the renovations Clarion started on the 11-year-old property.

The Glendon also has 50,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. The retail and multifamily portions are 97 percent leased.

Clarion paid $300 million for the apartment complex from its developer, Casden Properties, in 2014. The property was then renamed from Palazzo Westwood Village. Casden completed and opened the complex in 2008.

Douglas Emmett said it is considering bringing in a partner to reduce its capital interest in the property.

Douglas Emmett owns half a dozen office buildings in Westwood, but the Glendon is its first residential property in the neighborhood. But the REIT is a major investor of multifamily properties. The acquisition brings its total apartment portfolio to around 4,000 units in Santa Monica, Brentwood, and now Westwood. It also owns properties in Hawaii, according to the company.

The firm’s office portfolio is larger than its multifamily portfolio and is concentrated in Westside markets, but the REIT also owns assets in the San Fernando Valley. It’s now seeking city approval to build a 67,000-square-foot office building on its Trillium campus in Warner Center.