Kennedy Wilson JV spends $37M on first LA multifamily buys

UPDATED, July 6, 2022, 10:49 a.m.: A newly formed investment firm focused on buying value-add properties in predominantly minority neighborhoods has bought its first apartment complexes in Los Angeles.

Langdon Park Capital has bought a 177-unit complex in Hollywood and a 23-unit building in Baldwin Village for a total of $36.9 million, the firm announced on Wednesday.

L.A.-based investment firm Kennedy Wilson and Greenwich, Connecticut-based Eldridge Industries are both equity partners in the firm, Johnson said.

At 5640 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, the company bought The Derby Apartments from Dallas-based Harwood International for $31.4 million, or about $177,000 per unit, public property records indicate. Apartments at the complex are all studio units, with monthly rents from $1,300 to $1,460 per month, according to online listings for the property.

In Baldwin Village, the company bought a complex now dubbed Langdon Park at Baldwin Village. That property was offered at $5.5 million, or about $239,000 per unit, according to marketing materials from Marcus & Millichap, and sold for $5.65 million, property records show.

Langdon Park Capital is planning to renovate and repair the complexes and keep rents affordable for people who earn between 60 and 120 percent of area median income, according to the firm’s CEO, Malcolm Johnson.

The firm, which has now made three acquisitions to date across the U.S., is buying properties in “densely populated urban areas that are majority minority,” with a focus on neighborhoods with Black and Latino communities, Johnson told TRD. So far, the firm has spent just over $100 million on both L.A. properties and a complex outside Washington, D.C.

Langdon Park is sourcing capital from a number of institutional firms, family offices and pension funds to make the purchases.

Though Langdon Park Capital is focused on investing in affordable multifamily properties, other investment firms have focused their efforts on building affordable housing for communities.

SoLA Impact, based in L.A., recently scored a $50 million investment in its Black Impact Fund from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, bringing its fund total to $250 million.