Los Angeles, Calif. – Corona, Calif.-based Watermarke Properties has acquired The Gardens at Wilshire Center, a recently completed, 159-unit, mixed-use apartment community in the Wilshire Center/Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, for $48 million, or $301,887 per unit, from a joint venture between Burbank, Calif.-based Chandler Partners and Denver-based Amstar Group, LLC. The sale was brokered by the Irvine office of Chicago-based Moran & Company. Mary Ann King, president, and Tom Moran Jr., a director, brokered the transaction. The sale closed on April 27, 2010.

Peter DiLello, Director of Acquisitions for Watermarke Properties, said Watermarke was attracted by the opportunity to acquire a core asset in a Southern California submarket with a very limited development pipeline.

“Our focus as a company is to acquire new product in the best markets in Southern California. The Gardens at Wilshire Center fits squarely within our company’s strategic goals and is an overall great asset as we expand our portfolio in this submarket,” said DiLello.

For apartment investors, acquiring institutional-quality assets in core Southern California submarkets has been close to, if not nearly, impossible over the last decade. Since 2000, there have been only seven deals over 90 units, and less than 10 years old, that have sold along L.A.’s Wilshire Corridor, where Gardens is located.

As a result, “Investor interest in the asset was phenomenal,” says Tom Moran Jr. of Moran & Company, who conducted over 50 property tours and received over 30 offers. “Over the last four months, core buyers have returned to the market and their appetite for acquisitions has been strong. The Gardens at Wilshire Center was a bulls-eye for these core buyers because of its superior product quality and fantastic location.”

Dan Chandler of Chandler Partners, the 35-year old local development firm that built the property, understands the appeal of the location. He comments that, “Chandler Partners typically builds properties in urban infill locations. The location is great for the renter and for the investor. We have built Museum Gardens, Detroit Village and Gardens at Wilshire along this corridor and were very successful in doing so.”

The Class-A apartment property, which was built in 2008, enjoys a high profile location on Wilshire Boulevard, midway between Beverly Hills and Downtown Los Angeles. The 159 units are located in a single, six-story podium-style building with five stories of residential built over ground-floor retail (7,955 sq. ft.) and parking. The retail space is fully leased to Comerica Bank, Subway, Salad Farm and 24 Quick.

Apartments at The Gardens at Wilshire Center range from studios to two-bedroom units, with an average unit size of 806 square feet. Each apartment includes a stainless steel or black appliance package, granite countertops, designer maple cabinetry, and a stackable full-size washer and dryer. Community amenities include a resort-style pool and spa, a fitness center, a screening room, and a number of large landscaped terraces and courtyards with lounges, fireplaces and barbecues.

About Watermarke Properties: Corona, Calif.-based Watermarke Properties, Inc. (www.watermarkeproperties.com) is a privately owned real estate investment company that acquires, develops and operates a diverse portfolio of quality apartment, retail, office and industrial properties. Watermarke Properties’ primary focus is on acquiring properties and development opportunities located throughout Southern California, the Bay Area, Nevada, and Arizona. Watermarke is an internally financed and privately held company that has closed over $650 million in transactions, all-cash, in the last 36 months.

About Chandler Partners: Originally founded by Dan Chandler in 1972, Burbank, Calif.-based Chandler Partners (www.chandlerpartners.com) is a full service real estate investment, development and construction firm. The firm has evolved over the past 35 years and now includes several partners and a full staff of professionals that deliver an average of 4 to 6 projects per year with an annual development volume in excess of $100 million. The partners of the Firm have over 120 years of combined construction, market, and financial expertise delivering over 10,000 multifamily units and 1,500,000 SF of commercial space. Over the past decade, the partners have been instrumental in developing more than 50 real estate projects valued in excess of 1 Billion dollars

About Amstar Group, LLC: Established in 1987, Denver-based Amstar Group, LLC is a leading real estate investment manager that offers both commingled funds and tailored separate accounts to its international and domestic clients. With nearly $2 billion in assets under management, Amstar’s current portfolio consists primarily of office, hospitality, multifamily holdings within the major markets of the United States and select markets in Europe and Latin America.

About Moran & Co: Moran & Co. (www.moranandco.com) is a Chicago-based transaction services firm specializing in the sale of institutional-quality multifamily properties including Class A and value-add opportunities. Moran & Co. has marketed or sold more than $11 billion in properties for institutional clients nationally during the past decade. Moran has offices in Irvine, Calif., Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

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