BURBANK, CA-Developer JPI has named Hendricks & Partners to market the 145-unit Jefferson at Toluca apartment complex at an asking price of $31 million in a lender-facilitated short sale. The two-building apartment complex, which sold for nearly $43 million in 2007 and is 98% occupied, is being marketed by Hendricks partner Dean Zander along with associate partner Vince Norris. Zander tells GlobeSt.com that the property previously traded for nearly $43 million in 2007, before the owner’s renovation program.

The Jefferson at Toluca buildings, constructed in 1974 and 1987, feature access from both Clybourn and Valley streets, immediately north of Riverside Drive in the Media District of Burbank. Zander reports the offering has already drawn broad interest from prospective buyers, including many private and institutional investors and pension advisors, thanks to the prime location of the buildings and the price.

Another reason the asset is drawing investor interest is that the complex "will enable a buyer to establish an immediate and substantial ownership presence or add to existing holdings in the Burbank apartment market, which hasn’t seen an institutionally-sized apartment building constructed in two decades," Zander says.

According to Norris, such opportunities in Burbank are rare. He says that the asset holds the potential for future rent growth because of below-market rents. With occupancy at 98% at the Jefferson at Toluca and 96% overall in Burbank―and with the city having no rent control restrictions―a new owner "can implement more market-driven pricing immediately," Norris suggested.

Zander describes the asking price of just under $214,000 per unit as well below replacement cost, which is now more than $300,000 per unit for multifamily development in Los Angeles. The 145 units include a mix of studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and townhouse-style apartments.