Buyer of $64M Complex Plans Upgrades

HOLLYWOOD-Seattle's Security Properties Inc. has acquired the 298-unit Serravella apartment complex from Northwestern Investment Management Co. of Newport Beach for $64.25 million. The firm plans further upgrades to the recently renovated property, according to Dean Zander of the Encino office of Hendricks & Partners.Zander, who brokered the sale of the property along with Joe Leon of the Newport Beach office of Hendricks & Partners, tells GlobeSt.com that the seller performed extensive upgrades during its five-year ownership.The renovations completed by the seller included replacing all the windows, upgrading 296 out of 298 units, new paint, lighting, landscaping and other upgrades, Zander says. He says the sales price, at $390 per sf, is believed to be a new record for a 1980s vintage building in Hollywood.Zander tells GlobeSt.com that the property drew more than 30 offers and sold for more than the list price. Buyer Security Property, which acquired the property in partnership with GMAC Institutional Advisors, owns another property in the immediate vicinity.The new owners plan further upgrades to all units over the next 12 months, plus an increase in the size of the fitness center and improvements to the gates, lobbies and other features of the complex. Lonnie Nadal, managing director of acquisitions for Security Properties, says the upgrades will reposition the Serravella into a more contemporary and "hip" upscale complex.The Serravella comprises three four-story buildings interconnected by four courtyards, with two levels of parking. It occupies a site at the northeast corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Fuller Avenue, midway between La Brea Avenue and Fairfax Avenue.Built in 1987, the Serravella features 300 feet of frontage on Hollywood Boulevard and is within walking distance of many Hollywood attractions. Zander notes that the Hollywood apartment market is at 96% occupancy and rents have risen 7.6% over the past year, compared with an L.A. countywide average of 6.7%.