MARIN CITY, Calif. - Sacramento, Calif.-based St. Anton Partners, an affordable housing developer, has purchased a 225-unit apartment community in Marin City, Calif., from Gateway Apartment Partners L.P., an affiliate of TMG Partners of San Francisco, Calif., for $28.5 million. Chicago-based Moran & Company was the exclusive listing agent with Mary Ann King, president, and Brett Betzler, director, of Moran & Company’s West Coast office, representing the seller.

The property has been approved for low income housing tax credits and tax-exempt bond financing, and the apartments will be offered at below-market rents. According to Betzler, “the land and improvements were marketed together to conventional apartment investors in 2008, but changing market conditions forced us towards more creative solutions. Ultimately, we determined that the property’s highest and best use was in the affordable housing arena, and the execution that worked best for everyone was a sale of the improvements only, and a restructuring of the existing ground lease.”

According to Michael Covarrubias, president of TMG Partners, “Ridgeway was part of a larger redevelopment organized by our firm, Bridge Housing, and local community leaders in the early 1990’s. We are pleased with the extent to which the project has revitalized Marin City already, and we believe that the new ground lease arrangement will provide a steady source of income of for several non-profit groups that serve the surrounding community.”

According to Steve Eggert, a managing partner of St. Anton Partners, “We are long term investors, and we will immediately invest over $4.0 million to improve the property. Among other things, this money will go toward interior upgrades, landscaping improvements, and upgrading the community room. We also plan to offer new resident services, such as after school programs and computer classes.”

Property Information:

Ridgeway Apartments includes 225 units in twelve three-story buildings with tuck-under garage parking. The address is 141 Donahue Street, Marin City, CA 94965. Marin City is a small unincorporated area of Marin County with a population of 2,500. It is adjacent to Sausalito and directly across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. The apartments are part of a larger redevelopment project at the center of Marin City that also included the 180,000 sq. ft. Marin Gateway Shopping Center, which is across the street, and the 85-unit Marin City Townhomes, where resales are typically in the $500,000 range.

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