Western National Wins Apartment Portfolio

IRVINE, CA-Western National Property Management has landed a contract to manage a six-property, 677-unit portfolio of apartment complexes in Southern California on behalf of Dr. Robert Ko. The six properties are in Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire and Orange County.

According to Craig Rooney, regional vice president of business development for Western National, the owner of the portfolio was looking for "a more sophisticated approach in management" that would boost the overall net operating income of the properties. Western National, which manages properties both on a third-party basis and on behalf of its affiliated development and investment firm, says the business plan for the new portfolio is "targeted at improving renewals, market rents and ancillary income."

The new portfolio assignment continues Western National's growth from 2006, when the company was hired to manage 31 properties totaling 9,300 units. This year, the company has added nine new properties totaling 1,400 units to increase its total number of properties under management to approximately 155 and the number of units to 27,000.

Western National Property Management is an entity of Western National Group, a 43-year-old group of companies that includes acquisition, development, construction and property management firms. Besides its role as a property manager, it is the second-largest owner of multifamily housing in Orange County, behind the Irvine Co.

The Los Angeles County properties in the Ko portfolio include the 144-unit Vista Via complex at 1430 W. Foothill Blvd. in Upland, the 122-unit Sycamore Park complex at 1151 W. Arrow Highway in Azusa and the 88-unit Heritage Park at 850 S. Vincente in Azusa.

In the Inland Empire, the Ko holdings include the 168-unit Towngate Racquet Club at 23227 Hemlock Ave. in Moreno Valley and the 58-unit Ontario Plaza at 625 W. Vesta St. in Ontario. The Orange County property is the 37-unit Las Casas complex at 150 N. Coffman St. in Anaheim, near Angel Stadium.