TruAmerica Drops $102M in Salt Lake City

LOS ANGELES—TruAmerica Multifamily is the “Jones family” of value-add investors—everyone is just trying to keep up. This week, the investment firm, in partnership with the Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America, has purchased two value-add apartment complexes in Salt Lake City, UT, from Jackson Square Partners for $102 million, GlobeSt.com reports exclusively. Including these acquisitions, TruAmerica has purchased four properties in the Salt Lake City market within the last six months, giving the firm a total of 1,700 units in the market alone.

“We are really trying to build our presence there, and that is not easy to do because there are not a lot of properties that trade in the Salt Lake City metro every year,” Greg Campbell, senior managing director at TruAmerica Multifamily, tells GlobeSt.com. “In terms of 100-unit-plus properties, only 10 to 12 properties per year trade, so it is a very thinly traded market. There is a lot of apartment product there, but a lot of investors hold for the very long term. This year, we have really been able to build a presence in Salt Lake City, and we continue to look. It is a market that we continue to have interest in.”

Despite the difficultly finding deals, TruAmerica has managed to unearth opportunities by leaning on its deep-rooted professional relationships. This deal was no exception; TruAmerica found it off market through a connection with the seller and through a local broker, according to Campbell. Like all of its purchases, the class-B properties have a strong value-add component and target a workforce demographic.

The two properties include Somerset Village Apartment Homes, a 486-unit complex purchased, and Southwillow Apartments, 440-unit complex. “We feel like these both have upside through interior renovation programs,” adds Campbell. He says that the firm plans to renovate the exterior and common areas, but will focus its improvement plan on the interior. Built in the 1980s, the properties are cumulatively 99% leased. TruAmerica will invest an additional $8 million in renovations.