Decron Sells SoCal Rental Community to AEW Capital for $133M

Decron Properties has extended a lucrative selling spree in Southern California after unloading another multifamily asset.

The Los Angeles-based company announced Thursday that it sold the Ranch at Moorpark, a 376-unit multifamily community in Ventura County, to AEW Capital Management for $133.2 million. The property is at 51 Majestic Court in Moorpark, Calif., near Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley, about 15 miles beyond the L.A. County border.

Decron bought the property in 2013 for $84.4 million and has since completed several capital improvements, including renovating all units and common areas. The firm added a recreation building with a new leasing office, a fitness center, a yoga studio, a clubhouse, and outdoor common areas.

“The execution of our business plan produced a high-quality community with more amenities than its competition. This plan generated substantially higher rents and in turn robust returns over a 10-year period, outperforming our original projection,” Decron President and CEO David J. Nagel said in a statement.

The Ranch at Moorpark is the latest in a series of Southern California dispositions that Decron has made over the past six months as it pivots its portfolio to other regions. That includes two properties with 399 units in Thousand Oaks that Decron sold for a combined $171.3 million in December.

“We’re looking at markets like San Diego, where we recently made a substantial acquisition, and places like Phoenix and Seattle, where we already have created a significant portfolio,” Nagel said. “Our objective is to make our portfolio younger and geographically more diverse.”

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