UPDATED: Jan. 21, 2022, 11:22 a.m.: Multifamily specialist Gelt has bought a recently built apartment complex in Downtown Long Beach for $156 million.
The firm bought the 271-unit complex at 635 Pine Avenue from Holland Partner Group and NASH — the U.S. division of Osaka-based homebuilder Sekisui House, according to Walker & Dunlop, which brokered the sale on behalf of the sellers.
The sale came out to around $575,645 per unit.
Gelt completed the deal through a 1031 tax-deferred exchange, after selling a 564-unit complex in Denver for $141 million, according to Gelt’s principal, Keith Wasserman.
“1031! No taxes paid!” Wasserman said in a message to The Real Deal. “Magic.”
Nuveen provided $91.3 million in financing in connection with Gelt’s purchase. Terms of the loan were not disclosed.
Holland Partner Group and NASH bought three parcels for the site in 2018, records show. The firms then obtained a $90 million loan from NASH’s financing division for construction.
The complex, dubbed Volta on Pine, includes a fitness center, pool, spa and rooftop terrace.
Rents at the property currently range from $2,410 for a studio to $5,175 for a three-bedroom unit, according to online listings for the property. The complex also includes two-bedroom townhomes, ranging from 1,280 to 1,300 square feet in size.
San Fernando Valley-based Gelt, run by Wasserman and Damian Langere, has been an active investor in multifamily properties across the U.S. over the past couple of years. In September, the firm bought a 312-unit complex in Anaheim for $146.5 million, which was around 40 percent more than what the property last traded for in 2018.
The firm also owns properties in Seattle, San Antonio, Portland and smaller cities.
Gelt’s latest purchase comes as Long Beach is repositioning itself as an aerospace hub with a moniker of “Space Beach” getting some mention as more space startups follow the likes of Relativity Space, RocketLab and Virgin Galactic and move their headquarters to the city.
This story has been updated to include a comment from Gelt’s Keith Wasserman.