Decron Properties grew its hometown multifamily footprint for the first time in two years, the Business Journal has learned.
The Mid-Wilshire real estate firm paid $114 million, or $365 per square foot, to purchase 5550 Wilshire Blvd. on Miracle Mile, according to a spokesperson for Decron.
The sale price works out to “well below replacement cost” for the 163-unit building, according to Decron’s chief executive David Nagel. And it’s proof Decron hasn’t yet placed a referendum on Los Angeles, Nagel said in a statement.
“We remain active, well-capitalized and highly disciplined about where we invest,” he said. “When an asset of this quality becomes available at the right basis and yield, being local, experienced and well capitalized matters.”
The seller of the 312,00-square-foot mixed-use building was private equity real estate investor GID, according to property records and two sources with knowledge of the deal. A spokesperson for the Boston-based firm did not respond to a request for comment.
JLL’s Blake Rogers brokered the deal for both sides and declined to comment.
It’s unclear when GID acquired the property, but county assessor records indicate the 1.9-acre site five blocks from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art last changed hands in 2004 for $2.7 million.
Development saga
Foster City-based Legacy Partners began construction of the six-story mixed-use building in a joint venture with BlackRock in 2007, as the Business Journal previously reported. It was completed in 2010 and has since been managed by GID’s property management arm, Windsor Communities.
The developers originally proposed a condo project for the site, but switched them to rental units after construction began, Legacy’s former development vice president, Scott Walter previously told the Business Journal. That left the building with unusually spacious floor plans – 33% larger than the average apartment floor area in the surrounding neighborhood, according to Decron. Amenities include a pool and spa, plus parking for 484 vehicles.
The property also contains 14,686 square feet of retail space, which is currently fully leased to tenants including FedEx and fast casual eateries Chipotle and Five Guys, according to a spokesperson for Decron.
Those attributes, plus immediate cash flow from the property, are a combination that’s increasingly difficult to find in Southern California’s severely constrained multifamily market, Nagel said.
“5550 Wilshire would be extraordinarily difficult to recreate today – physically, economically and from an entitlement standpoint,” Nagel stated. “Its scale, unit sizes, parking, mixed-use character and Miracle Mile location make it a genuinely irreplaceable asset.”
Decron has already launched a marketing website for its newest multifamily acquisition and rebranded the property “5550 Wilshire at Miracle Mile.”
The 71-year old firm, which is headquartered on Wilshire Boulevard just a mile east of its new Miracle Mile acquisition, owns some 10,000 multifamily units and about a million square feet of retail space across California, Washington and Arizona, according to its website.
In March, Decron received an $82.9 loan package from Fannie Mae to refinance its 398-unit River Ranch apartments at 1518 Patricia Ave. in Simi Valley, as Commercial Observer previously reported. And earlier this month, Chicago-based multifamily investor Waterton Residential bought Decron’s 482-unit Reserve at Chino Hills for an undisclosed amount, Multi-Housing News reported.
