Gelt Buys 149 Apartments in Los Angeles for $76M

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Los Angeles-based investment firm Gelt announced that it acquired a 149-unit multifamily property from AvalonBay Communities for $76 million.

Avalon Studio 4121 is at 4041-4121 Radford Avenue in Studio City, a prominent neighborhood on the north side of the Hollywood Hills in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. Gelt plans to renovate and rename the property over the next three years.

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The four-story, two-building community was completed in 2009, and was approximately 98 percent occupied when the deal closed.

“This core-plus asset is only one of three apartment properties in Studio City with more than 100 units built in the past 15 years, making it a very rare investment opportunity in this submarket which has very high barriers to entry for new development,” Gelt’s Keith Wasserman said in a statement.

The development includes one- and two-bedroom units with an average size of 808 square feet. The 1.3-acre property also features a fitness center, a recreation room, a lounge area and courtyards.

“With the unit interiors in their original condition, Gelt is planning a capital improvement program by investing approximately $5 million in renovating all unit interiors and making common area amenity upgrades,” Gelt’s Jeff Harris said.

L.A.-based Gelt said it has acquired a portfolio of apartment units, RV and mobile home sites, and self-storage units valued in excess of $2 billion. At the beginning of the year, the firm bought a 271-unit community in downtown Long Beach for $156 million.

“We have strategically targeted properties in Southern California over the past 18 months and look to continue that trend moving forward because of compelling risk-adjusted returns,” the firm’s CIO, Josh Satin, said.

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