A nine-unit apartment building dating to 1941 in Santa Ana sold Nov. 1 for $3,105,000 or $345,000 per unit.
CBRE, which represented the seller, said the price per unit “set an all-time high watermark for a multifamily sale in Santa Ana.”
The building at 425 E. Wellington Ave. was built in 1941 and renovated in 2023 and 2024. The 5,266-square-foot, two-story structure on a 9,191-square-foot lot at the corner with North Lacy Street. It includes eight one-bedroom and one two-bedroom floor plans and nine garage spaces.
“This asset is truly a turnkey property, having undergone a full interior and exterior renovation, including the extensive renovation of all nine units,” said CBRE’s Amanda Fielder.
CBRE noted that neither the local buyer nor the Tennessee-based seller were in a 1031 exchange.
Small, multifamily deals continue to dominate apartment transactions in Orange County. Two weeks ago, we noted that sales volume in the category climbed 20.3% to $1.23 billion year-to-date compared with last year. But that volume was down 49.9% from the previous quarter, “signaling that strong investor demand earlier this year has cooled,” according to a quarterly report from NAI Capital.
RSM retail center sells for $22.8 million
Curbline Properties, a publicly traded REIT based in Ohio that invests in convenience shopping centers, recently acquired Santa Margarita Marketplace in Rancho Santa Margarita for $22.76 million in an all-cash deal, according to Faris Lee Investments.
Faris Lee noted this newest transaction marked a combined $93 million on behalf of the seller’s retail portfolio in Rancho Santa Margarita.
“This is a highly attractive investment opportunity offering stable, inflation-protected cash flow, minimal landlord responsibility, and annual rent increases,” said Chris DePierro, a managing director at Faris Lee.
The 29,418 square-foot retail center — anchored by Starbucks, Luna Grill, and Philly’s Best — includes three multi-tenant, free-standing pad buildings.
Silver Shovel Goes to USC
A USC team of graduate students won the silver shovel in the 27th Annual NAIOP SoCal UCLA vs. USC Real Estate Challenge.
This year’s competition site was a 9.27-acre plot within the broader 142-acre Raytheon Campus in El Segundo. The site includes three parcels in an irregular shape at the intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Nash Street.
The pitch part of the contest was held Nov. 21 at USC, featuring five-member graduate student teams from the Ziman Center of Real Estate at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, and the Lusk Center at USC’s Marshall School of Business and Price School of Public Policy.
USC’s winning proposal The Concourse — conceived by Austin Risley, Jonathan Moftakhar, Alexandria Gordon, Austin Adams and Sagiv Hartmayer — featured a medical campus with retail, a data center and substation.
In 2023, UCLA won for its proposal on how to repurpose Tustin’s south blimp hangar.
Also see: What happens next with the burned-out Tustin blimp hangar?
Movember success for Hanley
Corona del Mar-based Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors raised $31,800 for the annual Movember campaign held throughout November.
The fundraiser marked the 14th consecutive year the firm participated in the movement to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
Hanley said it has raised a total of $400,000 to support men’s health initiatives since the company launched its campaign in 2011.
The firm’s efforts are personal for President Ed Hanley, who lost his father to prostate cancer in 2009.
“We exceeded our fundraising goal of $30,000 for the month, and I am truly moved by the support we received from our clients, colleagues, friends, and family to accomplish this,” he said. “This cause is very important to me and our company, and our success wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of so many.”
On the move
Marty Taylor has joined International law firm BCLP as partner in the firm’s Real Estate Finance group in Irvine. Taylor has 30 years of experience representing financial institutions, companies and other parties. His practice focuses on syndication, mezzanine lending, and restructuring and bankruptcy. BCLP has 1,275 lawyers in 31 offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The real estate roundup is compiled from news releases and written by Business Editor Samantha Gowen. Submit items and high-resolution photos via email to sgowen@scng.com . Please allow at least a week for publication. All items are subject to editing for clarity and length.
