LA Real Estate Firms Are Making Deals Outside California

CGI sold the Astoria on Celebration for $ 74.5 million.

Los Angeles real estate companies are paying attention to more dispersed markets and doing business outside of California, from Provo, Utah to Orlando, Florida.

In the past few weeks, two Westside companies have made major acquisitions.

Santa Monica-based MJW Investments bought a student residence at Brigham Young University, Utah. The price was not disclosed.

MJW acquired the 154-unit, 924-bed community in partnership with Redstone Residential Inc. of Provo, Utah.

With the acquisition, MJW now has more than 7,000 student residences in the United States.

Amenities at the property near BYU include a hot tub, sand volleyball court, pool, and on-site laundry facilities.

It is MJW’s sixth acquisition in this area.

In March, the company, together with Redstone Residential and Venice-based MHE Enterprises Inc., acquired a 1,156-bed student residence nearby.

In the recent acquisition, MJW plans to spend cash on the units and amenities to make it a more desirable property. Redstone Residential will oversee renovations and property operations.

“The close proximity to campus and the remarkable offerings are just some of the things that make this property incredibly attractive,” said Mark Weinstein, President and Founder of MJW Investments, in a statement.

“This means that our acquisitions will reach more than 2,000 beds in Provo in 2021. We are excited to bring a new living experience to the students at BYU and we are incredibly confident that once our capital projects are completed, this will be an enhanced living experience for the students, ”he added.

Voya Investment Management funded debt for the acquisition.

Further south, BH Properties, based in Sawtelle, acquired a retail center in Plano, Texas on June 1 for an undisclosed price.

Known as Preston Shepard Place, the property has 361,780 square feet of retail space on 31 acres. The center was built in 1995 and has Marshalls, Burlington and Tuesday Morning among its anchor businesses.

Only 55% of the location was rented when it was closed.

“Preston Shepard Place is an underutilized retail location poised for a surge in lease and traffic,” said Scott Henry, director of acquisitions at BH Properties, in a statement.

“With 163,002 square feet of vacancy, we have plenty of runway to generate future cash flow growth. We plan to accommodate a large number of retailers by spreading the larger vacancies across smaller spaces. The busy location and wealth dynamics offer the opportunity to achieve significant growth in NOI (Net Operating Income), ”he added.

From 2008 to 2018, the center was 94.4% occupied, according to BH Properties. According to the company, the current low occupancy rates are due to corporate insolvencies in private customer business.

The transaction marks BH Properties’ first retail deal of the year.

While other local businesses are adding assets, Woodland Hills-based CGI Real Estate Investment Strategies is giving up some properties in other states.

The company announced on June 3 that it had sold Astoria to Versity Investments at Celebration in Celebration, Florida for $ 74.5 million.

The property has 306 luxury apartment buildings spread over six four-story buildings with a central clubhouse and pool.

The property was built in 2016 before being vacated in 2017 due to construction issues. CGI acquired the vacant community in 2019 for $ 43 million and brought the property up to date. At the time of sale to Versity Investments, the property was 99% let.

“Our history as a fundamental developer has given us both the experience and confidence that we can take on a massive challenge like Astoria and turn it into a resort-style Class A facility,” said Gidi Cohen, CEO of CGI in an opinion.

“Having successfully restored the property to optimal condition and the Orlando market continued to pick up, we were able to exceed our business plan in record time,” he added.

CGI assumes that the property will develop well in the future.

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