Square Mile Capital Lends $173M for New 480-Unit Project in LA

Investment firms Harbor Group International and Azure Partners acquired the aptly named Jefferson Vista Canyon, which includes 480 units in 17 buildings at 17350 Humphreys Parkway in Santa Clarita Valley’s Vista Canyon.

The Registry reported that JPI sold the property for $230.3 million.

Bryant Ferber, Azure’s head of acquisitions, said it is the New York-based firm’s first purchase in California.

“[We] ​​expect this transaction to serve as a springboard to more opportunities in the Western United States as we seek to expand our presence in the region,” he said in a statement.

Jefferson Vista Canyon is part of a 185-acre mixed-use master planned community that is expected to be completed by this summer. It will feature 165,000 square feet of retail space, 650,000 square feet of offices, 240 hotel rooms, 855 apartments, 245 single-family homes, an 11-acre community park and a Metrolink station.

Square Mile principal Tom Burns said very few market-rate properties with more than 100 units have been completed in the past 10 years in Santa Clarita. Jefferson Vista Canyon includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as two pools, two fitness centers, a yoga studio and a dog park.

The financing was arranged by JLL (JLL)’s Jamie Leachman, Brandon Smith and Annie Rice. JLL’s Peter Yorck and Nick Lavin represented the seller.

Square Mile and JPI have crossed paths before. In one case, Square Mile provided a $136 million loan for a 400-unit multifamily property in Anaheim in 2017.

Jefferson Vista Canyon is the seventh multifamily investment for HGI in the region. The company owns more than 59,000 units and 4.4 million square feet of commercial properties — valued at $16.3 billion — around the world.

Azure was founded in 2010 and has since acquired $2.5 billion in assets, including more than 11,000 multifamily units and 700,000 square feet of retail.

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.