Intercontinental Makes Another Big Buy

LOS ANGELES—Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. and MG Properties Group have partnered to purchase the Carmel Hacienda Heights Apartments in Hacienda Heights, CA. The name of the seller and the purchase price were not disclosed, however, sources unrelated to the deal tell GlobeSt.com that Carmel Partners sold the property to the joint venture for $81.5 million.

"Our significant existing regional portfolio creates operational efficiencies and provided us with a good understanding of this unique property and submarket," Christian Garner, chief investment officer of MG Properties Group, tells GlobeSt.com. "This is an extension of our strategy to seek core-adjacent markets that have the potential to benefit from further economic growth but are not as exposed to risk from competition by new developments. We expect this location and property to have long-term demand supported by a diverse mix of employment drivers."

MG Properties and Intercontinental plan to renovate the 350-unit complex, upgrading the interior and exterior units and addressing deferred maintenance. As part of the renovation plan, the buyers plan to rebrand the property the Hills at Hacienda Heights. "We have a multi-year renovation plan designed to support our long-term investment strategy at the property," says Garner. "Improvements will address both deferred maintenance items as well as upgrades to common areas and unit interiors."

This is InterContinental's second Los Angeles-area acquisition announcement in a week. The firm partnered with TruAmerica Multifamily to purchase the Millennium Woodland Hills apartment community for $163 million. That acquisition, however, was a newly built stabilized asset, and there is no renovation project planned.

MG Properties Group and Intercontinental purchased the property with a 10-year fixed-rate loan from Freddie Mac, which was arranged by CBRE's Brian Eisendrath. Sean Deasy and Mark Petersen at HFF represented the seller, and the buyers represented themselves.