Bascom Group Entity Sheds 128-Unit Multifamily

By Natalie Dolce

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Bridgemont Terrace Apartments

(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare Apartments 2011, October 20 in Los Angeles).

BAKERSFIELD, CA-Tarzana, CA-based Gelt Inc. acquired its 19th multifamily property since its inception in December of 2008. This particular property was a $11.65-million, 128-unit class A apartment community located in Bakersfield, CA. The seller was an entity of the Bascom Group.

Mark Bonas, vice president of the Bakersfield CB Richard Ellis Inc. office represented both the buyer and seller in this transaction. Bonas also represented both buyer and seller in May, 2010 when Gelt acquired Bridgemont Terrace Apartments, a 70-unit Bakersfield multifamily asset also owned by the Bascom Group.

According to Gelt founder Keith Wasserman, this asset was on its radar for over a year and half. “We have been actively trying to acquire Villa Sienna from Bascom for quite some time now,” he says. The high quality and recently renovated asset fits perfectly into the company’s Bakersfield portfolio, Wasserman says. “We love the location of the property, the quality of the asset, and believe it has tremendous potential as a long term hold for us,” he notes.

According to Gelt co-founder Damian Langere, the property was in great condition and the transition should run smoothly. “We acquired a property that was completely renovated in 2007 when Bascom spent over $1-million renovating the asset and upgrading it to the A quality project that it is. The property has great bones and minimum deferred maintenance. Bascom has done an excellent job running the property as evidenced by its 100% occupancy and waiting list of prospective tenants,” he says.

Evan Rock, VP Gelt, points out that “This is the type of project that we are targeting—A high quality living environment with lots of amenities and affordable rents.” He explains that the property has a tennis court, two pools, waterways running throughout, laundry hookups and fireplaces in each unit, a gym, and an “excellent location” to top it off.

In terms of Bakersfield’s multifamily market, Adrian Goldstein, a partner at Gelt remains bullish. “Cap rates are continuing to compress and values are continuing to rise on a national level,” he says. “Bakersfield is doing tremendously well from its concentration on oil and agricultural businesses, which are both doing phenomenally.” Additionally, Goldstein says, “Bakersfield has not seen any notable apartment development in over a decade.”

Goldstein explains that the population has grown more than 40% during this time period with little affordable housing stock. “I believe rental growth will be extremely strong for the next three to five years,” he says. “We were able to secure a very attractive fixed rate Fannie Mae loan through Wells Fargo. We locked rate at 5.20% and will enjoy positive arbitrage day one and strong cash flow.”
Gelt retained the services of Apartment Management Consultants as its third party property management for Villa Sienna. Clay Akiwenzie of Wells Fargo arranged the loan for Gelt.

As GlobeSt.com, Gelt has been busy as of late. The firm recently acquired the 415-unit Ferntree & Colonnade Gardens.

Categories: Multifamily, Acquisitions/Dispositions, Inland Empire, West