It looks as though CityView has landed a rarity and a bargain with one deal in the Hollywood Hills.
The Los Angeles-based multifamily investor and developer bought one of the two apartment buildings with more than 100 units in the tony terrain, striking a deal at more than 10 percent under its pre-pandemic price.
CityView paid $35.5 million for the 112-unit Candela complex at 1950 Tamarind Avenue — about $316,000 per unit, the Commercial Observer reported.
The seller, Raintree Partners, paid $40.7 million — about $360,000 per unit — for the complex in 2018, according to property records.
The property has a current occupancy of 98 percent, according to a statement from CityView CEO Sean Burton, who said the price was “significantly below replacement cost.”
The Candela is 50 years old and got upgrades under Raintree Partners’ ownership.
“New ownership will have the opportunity to focus almost exclusively on high-return interior improvements to the unrenovated units and follow a proven renovation plan that has yielded significant premiums,” said Joe Grabiec of Institutional Property Advisors, who brokered the deal with colleague Kevin Green.
Tenants of the Candela might be looking down upon new neighbors in the flatlands of Hollywood, where media company CMNTY Culture and developer Lincoln Property Company have announced plans for more than 700 apartments spread over two residential towers at Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue in Hollywood. That’s a shift from earlier plans that included large amounts of studio, office and retail space.
The swing to tower residential followed “shifting market dynamics,” according to Sam Pepper, vice president of development at Lincoln Property, at the time it was announced.
CityView has also followed shifting dynamics lately, with a new office in Dallas, which has been relatively hot for multifamily development compared with Los Angeles. Indeed, the relatively recent Measure ULA property transfer tax that puts a 5.5 percent levy on sale of more than $10.3 million has tamped down the market in the City of Los Angeles, which includes Hollywood.
The discount on the price CityView paid compared to the 2018 sale of the complex would more than cover the Measure ULA tax.