LOS ANGELES, CA - TruAmerica Multifamily, in partnership with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian), completed the purchase of two apartment properties in Salt Lake City, UT for $102 million.
TruAmerica acquired the 486-unit Somerset Village Apartment Homes in West Valley City, UT, and the 440-unit Southwillow Apartments in West Jordan, UT from San Francisco-based Jackson Square Partners. Both properties are of mid 1980’s vintage and located seven miles from one another on Redwood Road, one of the state’s busiest thoroughfares. Collectively, the properties are 99 percent leased.
The transaction comes on the heels of TruAmerica’s acquisition last month of Settler’s Point, a 416-unit community in Salt Lake City from Equus Capital Partners Ltd in a transaction valued at $46 million.
The purchases bring the total number of units under management to 1,657 for TruAmerica in the Salt Lake City area. The Los Angeles-based company entered the market in May with the acquisition of the Crossing at Daybreak, a 315-unit apartment home community in South Jordan, UT.
Since its founding two years ago, TruAmerica has been one of the most active buyers of multifamily assets in the United States. Salt Lake City has been a prime focus for the company as it has grown into one of the most diverse and dynamic employment markets in the nation, rivaling that of larger markets like San Francisco and New York. Technology employers and financial firms including Goldman Sachs have been adding jobs in the region pushing the city’s unemployment rate down to 3.7 percent in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest metro data. The metro’s rate is well below the nationwide average of 5.3 percent for that month.
The multitude of new jobs has attracted an increasing number of Millennials to the area, helping transform Utah into the nation’s youngest state with 32 percent of its population under the age of 32, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
“We see Salt Lake City as the perfect apartment market,” said Greg Campbell, TruAmerica’s Senior Managing Director of Acquisitions. “We find that 18 to 31-year olds are much more likely to rent than to buy, and although Salt Lake City is one of the most affordable rental markets in the nation, the number of people flocking to the region will create upward pressure on rents for highly amenitized, quality housing near jobs, shopping and dining.”
TruAmerica will invest an additional $8 million to reposition the two properties to meet an increasing renter pool of young professionals and working families that currently live and/or are relocating to Salt Lake City, and are in need of quality affordable rental housing in the area, according to Campbell. The renovations will include new countertops, appliance packages, cabinets and flooring, as well as such common area upgrades as community outdoor kitchens, dog parks and pool enhancements.
James Wadsworth and Greg Barratt of Berkadia represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.
About TruAmerica Multifamily: TruAmerica Multifamily is a vertically integrated value-add multifamily investment firm based in Los Angeles. Founded in July 2013 as a joint venture between Robert Hart and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, TruAmerica has been one of the country’s most active multifamily investors and manages a $4.4 billion portfolio of more than 22,000 units across prime locations throughout Northern and Southern California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and Utah. For more information on TruAmerica Multifamily, visit www.truamerica.com or call (424) 325-2750.
About Guardian: The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian) is one of the nation’s largest mutual life insurers, with $6.8 billion in capital and $1.3 billion in operating income (before taxes and dividends to policyholders) in 2014. Founded in 1860, the company has paid dividends to policyholders every year since 1868. Its offerings range from life insurance, disability income insurance, annuities, and investments for individuals to workplace benefits, such as dental, vision, and 401(k) plans for businesses. The company has approximately 6,000 employees and a network of over 3,000 financial representatives in more than 70 agencies nationwide. For more information about Guardian, please visit www.guardianlife.com.