FEDERAL WAY, WA—As transit-oriented living becomes increasingly mainstream, housing near light rail gets more attention from investors. One such property is Waterbury Park Apartments, which has been purchased for $56 million by RISE Properties Trust and Aegon Real Assets US.

The multifamily community was built in 1989 one mile west of Interstate 5, or an approximately 25 minute drive south of Seattle and 20 minute drive north of Tacoma. The property is walking distance to the Federal Way Commons, an approximately 800,000-square-foot mall anchored by Target, Macy, Kohl’s and Century Theaters. It is also less than one mile from the Federal Way Transit Center, which is expected to open a light rail station in 2024 as part of Sound Transit’s $3.1 billion Federal Way Link Extension.

“Acquiring Waterbury Park Apartments is an exciting opportunity to restore an aging, well-located multifamily property in the context of a favorable financing environment,” says Beau Madsen, investment manager at RISE. “We look forward to positioning the asset to better meet the quality and amenity expectations of today’s renter, while also providing RISE investors with exposure to the Federal Way and Puget Sound multifamily markets.”

Waterbury Park features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units spread over 31 residential buildings. Located on 13.3 acres, the property also includes a clubhouse with a fitness center, a dog park, a spa and two pools.

“We plan to heavily invest in the unit finishes, the leasing office and the common area amenities in an effort to make them best-in-class in the submarket, while offering great value to the current and future residents of the community,” Madsen tells GlobeSt.com. “We believe in the location long term as a suburban community with strong access to employment up and down the I-5 corridor. This location specifically offers a rare walkability to a wide variety of retail, restaurants and public transit, all of which are features we look for when investing.”

Including Waterbury Park Apartments, RISE owns approximately 2,900 units across 18 multifamily properties in the Pacific Northwest. The transaction, brokered by CBRE, represents the second joint venture between the companies this year.

“The acquisition of Waterbury Park Apartments is another illustration of Aegon RA’s investment strategy which focuses on acquiring, improving and preserving workforce housing in select metros across the US,” says Cameron Jones, head of real estate equity acquisitions for Aegon RA. “The venture with RISE showcases alignment with regional experts and leverages our experience and depth of relationships in the multifamily sector.”

The property will be managed by Thrive Communities, a Seattle-based property management firm with approximately 11,000 apartments under management.

RISE Properties Trust is a Canadian real estate trust based in Seattle and Aegon Real Assets US is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Aegon NV, a life insurance, pensions and asset management company headquartered in the Netherlands.

The Freddie Mac Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index/AIMI rose by 2.4% in first quarter 2019 as mortgage rates fell and net operating incomes continued a decade-long rise. The annual change in the index remained negative at -2.9% due to rising mortgage rates throughout 2018 and the continued upward trajectory of property prices, which are negatively correlated to AIMI. US property prices grew in all markets except Seattle.

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