Multifamily Investor Plucks Long Beach Gem

LONG BEACH—JB Matteson has purchased the Urban Village Apartments near Downtown Long Beach for $42 million. Built in 2015, the multifamily property has 129 units and 4,802 squat feet of commercial space.

"Urban Village exemplifies our investment strategy to acquire newer class-A apartments in dense infill locations in major metropolitan areas," John Bellack, co-president and chief investment officer at JB Matteson, tells GlobeSt.com. "We liked the property due to its walkability to the downtown Long Beach amenities and transit orientation. We were in a 1031 exchange, and this property met with the timing requirements for the exchange."

The stabilized and newly built asset is a long-term hold investment for the firm, which has invested $250 million in the Southern California market, targeting Los Angeles and Orange County. "We have targeted the L.A. and Orange County area due to its robust job growth, consumer-driven economy, and decent impediments to new supply," says Bellack. "We think the Long Beach market attracts the younger, urban renter that likes the walkability of the downtown market." The property's 90-point walk score and access to public transit were also attractive to the investor.

The 96,899-square-foot property has mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment units. The average unit size is 751 square feet, and each of the units feature nine-foot ceilings, central HVAC, washer/dryers, quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances. Additionally, the property has a great parking ratio of 1.4 spaces per unit.