Domain Apartments is a mid-rise
multifamily complex that comprises
264-units contained in four,
six-story buildings, and a
2,500 square foot retail unit
on the ground floor.

OAKLAND, CA-Centerline Capital Group exclusively tells GlobeSt.com that it has arranged for a $55-million bridge loan to recapitalize a multifamily property here. The loan was completed with Centerline’s origination partner, C-III Commercial Mortgage LLC and was provided to Berkshire Property Advisors for the refinance of the Domain Apartments. 

Domain Apartments is a mid-rise multifamily complex that comprises 264-units contained in four, six-story buildings, and a 2,500-square-foot retail unit on the ground floor. 

Improvements to the property, including the construction of a two-story underground garage, were made to the multifamily complex in phases, first between 2005 and 2007 with the original developer, and then between 2009 and 2011 with the current owner and borrower.

“Berkshire purchased the partially completed property in September of 2009 and invested approximately $48.7 million to complete the upgrades,” explains Paul Donahue, managing director in the mortgage banking group at Centerline. “The property is currently 98% occupied and is considered to be a quality, high-end class A rental project, thanks in large part to the build-out and wide variety of amenities.”

Property amenities include a central lobby, on-site management, a rotating art gallery on the ground level, which features art from local artists rotated every month, “connection café,” which is a business center with full coffee service, a community room with sofas, billiards, a fireplace and full kitchen, a state of the art fitness center, a bike repair shop, a “serenity room” for yoga and meditation, outdoor seating areas with tranquility pools and fireplaces, and a pet walking area.

The property also has a storage room with cyclone fenced storage areas for rent to tenants on the ground floor and in the gated parking garage. 

Donahue adds that “In addition, the property is well-located and less than 2 blocks away from the BART public transportation system. These factors gave us great confidence in this deal.”

Since its inception, Berkshire has sponsored more than 40 multifamily investment portfolios including seven discretionary, institutional multifamily equity funds, six multifamily mortgage funds, and two publicly traded REITs. 

Donahue tells GlobeSt.com that he has been very impressed with Oakland’s apartment market and its strength over the last few years. “In the third quarter 2012, Oakland had rent growth of 6.7%, third highest in the country after San Jose and San Francisco. Over the last two years it has consistently been a top performing market—and notwithstanding substantial new supply in the larger Bay Area the vacancy rate is below 3%, bolstered by robust job growth in the region,” he says.  

Recent analysis by HUD projected three year rental unit demand in the Oakland area for 15,800 units—and noted only 1,425 units are currently under construction in the Oakland Housing Market Area, explains Donahue. “With this modest supply of new units and regional employment growth supporting demand the strong occupancy levels in the Oakland area should be well supported for several years.”