SAN FRANCISCO-One buyer has acquired a 17-building apartment portfolio totaling 348 units at a 6% cap rate, while another has snagged a one-of-a-kind complex of 48 units across from the San Francisco Civic Center. Both of the transactions were negotiated by Alain Pinel Investment Group, which was the listing agent in both sales.

The 17-building portfolio was a rare offering for San Francisco in a number of respects. For one, the properties are in some of the better locations in San Francisco. For another, the portfolio presented an opportunity for an investor to acquire a considerably larger number of units than are usually available at one time in the San Francisco market.

An Alain Pinel team including Stephen Pugh, Mark Bonn, Mirella Webb and Paul Radcliffe represented both the buyer and the seller of the portfolio, which was sold by CP3/Island Capital. The buyer, one of multiple bidders who sought the portfolio, was a Northern California-based investment group. Price was undisclosed.

In the other sale, locally based investor Russ Flynn bought 512 Van Ness Ave., a 48-unit complex including two retail units across the street from San Francisco City Hall and the Civic Center, in an REO sale.

The 512 Van Ness complex is a rare property in that it is across from the Civic Center, but also because it is in the hub of other civic, arts and business activity. The building is near a host of arts and cultural attractions as well as on the Van Ness Corridor, a strong retail location.

The complex, also known as Corinthian Court, was the last of a number of REO apartment properties that Alain Pinel has sold for UBS in the San Francisco area. The purchase price was undisclosed, but the building was marketed at an asking price of $15 million, according to a previous GlobeSt.com report.

Like the 17-property portfolio, Corinthian Court generated strong investor interest. Pugh, Bonn and Webb represented UBS,while Flynn was represented by Dan McGue of Paragon Real Estate Group.

In addition to its other attributes, Corinthian Court is a rarity in that its original architectural elements have been maintained in the same condition as they were when the building was built in 1915, the year that San Francisco hosted the World Fair. Much of the architectural detail and construction material, including the exterior columns, were originally part of the World Fair exhibitions.