Positive Investment has closed one of the largest 2020 deals in Los Angeles with its purchase of the Mountain View Manor apartments at 12960 Dronfield Ave. in Sylmar, where 200 units traded for $29.4 million, or $147,000 per unit.Built in 1964 and renovated in 1999, Mountain View Manor covers more than 4 acres with a mix of studio, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units averaging 768 square feet. The property includes six buildings, two common areas, three laundry facilities and two swimming pools.Compass Commercial Senior Vice President Shaya Braverman and Compass associate Brendan Brown represented Positive and seller 21 Alpha Group in an off-market transaction.Mountain View Manor last changed hands in 2018, when it was purchased for $30.5 million, or $149, 264 per unit. At the time, the multifamily asset featured a total of 204 units.“While the pandemic induced a slowdown early this year, we are starting to see an uptick in commercial sales, and we are thrilled to have represented both the buyer and the seller in this successful sale,” said Compass Chief Executive Robert Reffkin in a statement.
“Mountain View Manor is a rare, sizeable multifamily asset catered for the most in-demand workforce rental housing. This property was love at first sight for us. We are thrilled to be the new owners,” added Srinivas Yalamanchili with Positive Investment. In a conversation with the Business Journal, Braverman and Brown discussed the intricacies of the deal. Brown found the property a year ago and at the time, he said, the owners were not interested in selling. The two agents said that a combination of low interest rates and high potential is what fueled the deal.
“Sylmar is not the sexiest neighborhood,” Braverman told the Business Journal. “(Yet) there’s a list of people waiting to get into a property like this.”Brown noted that the apartments are rent controlled by state government decree.“People want to have that guaranteed rent,” Braverman said, especially with a nonprofit behind the buyout.As for the owners, who will surely make upgrades to the site, Brown said, “they own other properties in the area. They’re able to capitalize on this return.” With multiple deals in play at the Beverly Hills-based Compass, including a pair of commercial properties in West Hollywood and a $4.5 million industrial site in Sherman Oaks, Braverman said that the year 2020 has been “the busiest we’ve ever been in our careers.”
‘Workforce’ Multifamily for $29M
