Renovations, improved management and a prime location within the Camelback Corridor submarket were a few reasons why the Phoenix apartment complex was sold for more than double the owner’s original investment five years prior. Gelt Inc., a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and asset management firm, has sold Capella Place, a 150-unit apartment property in Phoenix for $19.6 million ($130,500 per unit). Gelt acquired the property in August 2012 for $9.3 million ($62,000 per unit) and embarked on a strategic renovation and repositioning plan, more than doubling its value upon disposition.
Tyler Anderson, Sean Cunningham, and Asher Gunter of CBRE represented Gelt as well as the buyer, Baron Properties, in the transaction.
“Gelt recognized a prime opportunity to add significant value to Capella Place by making strategic improvements and creating operational efficiencies,” said Keith Wasserman, partner with Gelt. “In addition to taking advantage of the value-added play, the low cap rate environment driven by low interest rates, as well as the property’s high-growth location, made this a well-timed disposition and a true success story for our loyal investors and our firm.”
Wasserman noted, “The buyer has acquired a very well-located asset that still has tremendous upside potential through interior renovation and amenity enhancement.”
Upon acquiring the asset, formerly known as Broadstone on Twelfth Apartments, Gelt moved forward on a comprehensive renovation and repositioning strategy that encompassed a name change/rebranding, repainting the entire exterior, adding a perimeter fence and security gate, installing a barbeque area and pergola, and renovating select units.
Built in two phases in 1971 and 1985, Capella Place is located in the submarket of Camelback/Biltmore within the Greater Phoenix metro area. The garden-style 18-building property is situated on 4.85 acres and includes 76 one-bedroom units, 67 two-bedroom units, six studio units and one three-bedroom unit. Community amenities feature a 24-hour laundry facility, fully appointed clubhouse, pool and spa, fitness center and communal barbeques.
Prominently located at the intersection of 12th Street and Bethany Home Road, Capella Place is within one mile of the Camelback Corridor, 7th Street’s restaurant row, and the AZ-51 freeway. It is within five miles of three of the Phoenix area’s largest employment centers with more than 240,000 jobs that include the Camelback Corridor, Midtown and Downtown corridors. Additionally, the largest concentration of hospitals and healthcare affiliates in Arizona is located in the area immediately surrounding Capella Place.
The Greater Phoenix market has experienced strong economic growth in recent years. In fact, Maricopa County, which exceeds 4.2 million people, had the highest population growth in the nation in 2016.
