WEST CHESTER, PA-Fairfield Residential paid nearly $25.8 million for Waterview Apartments, a 19-building, 203-unit multifamily rental complex at Two Waterview Rd. "We plan to spend some money to reposition the property and keep it as a rental," Richard Boynton, Fairfield's director of acquisitions in the company's San Diego office, tells GlobeSt.com.

The $126,847-per-unit price tag represents a premium over the $57,000-per-unit median price paid for multifamily assets in the area, according to year-end 2005 data from the Philadelphia office of Marcus & Millichap. Eric Mattson Jr, vice president of Newtown Square-based GMH Capital Partners, says, despite the price, "It was still undervalued, considering its upside potential."

Mattson and Morgen Busch of GMH represented the seller. Identified as Waterview Associates LP, the seller is an entity of a joint venture between New York City-based Sentinel Corp. and Korman Communities, which is based in King of Prussia. Fairfield, which has headquarters in Grand Prairie, TX and San Diego, represented itself through its office in Bethesda, MD, Boynton says.

Mattson and Busch marketed the asset nationwide without an asking price. Busch says, "there were a lot of quality back-up buyers and the price was about were we evaluated it." Its location along West Chester Pike allows a short commute to Philadelphia, she points out.

The complex was built in the early 1970s and is about 90% occupied, according to Mattson. While it contains some studios, he says the majority of the units are one- and two-bedroom layouts, and they average about 800 sf. Current rental rates are between $850 and $1,250 a month.