Vista Investment Group has acquired SoCo Apartments, a 122-unit multifamily community located in Austin, TX. It is the Los Angeles-based private investment firm’s first multifamily investment in the Texas Capital. Vista entered the market in December 2021 with the acquisition of Park Central, a 114,000-square-foot office building in North Austin.

Built in 2004, SoCo Apartments offers a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units housed in 16 two-story residential buildings. Residents have access to a pool, clubhouse, fitness center, coffee bar, and picnic and grilling area. Vista Investment Group plans to upgrade the 96 percent occupied property through a multimillion-dollar capital improvement program that will include a comprehensive interior renovation of 105 units that are in their classic condition. Exterior renovations will include a refresh of the pool and BBQ areas, new landscaping, fitness center upgrades, and the addition of a new “bark park.”

“Austin is one of, if not the, most exciting real estate markets in the country,” said Vista Investment Group President Jonathan Barach. “The highly attractive lifestyle with a world class music and food scene, coupled with business-friendly environment, University of Texas talent pool, and now a tech powerhouse, has resulted in an undeniable position within the top US markets to invest, live and do business. While this is no secret – Austin has consistently ranked as a top market for several years – the ascension of Austin is still in its adolescence. We will continue to seek compelling opportunities within the market, with plans to invest $50-$100 million in multifamily and office/R&D assets over the next 12 months.”

Located at 6300 South Congress Ave. in south Austin, SOCO Apartment Homes is situated a mile from Interstate 35 and within five minutes of three in-progress master-planned developments: the St. Elmo District, The Oaks at Slaughter and The Hill’s at South Congress. Downtown Austin and the University of Texas are only six and eight miles away, respectively.

Will Balthrope, Jordan Featherston and Kent Myers of IPA represented the seller.

Vista Investment Group (“Vista”) has closed on the sale of The Pointe, a 387-unit multifamily property in Vancouver, WA marking the firm’s successful exit of four investments in the past five weeks in transactions totaling $334 million. 

The four assets, which also included Vasona Technology Park, a 314,000-square-foot office campus in Campbell, CA; Valley Creative Center, a 167,000-square-foot office and R&D campus in San Jose, CA; and Echo Pointe, an 80-unit multifamily property in San Diego, CA were acquired by Vista between 2016 and 2019.   Other than Valley Creative Center, which was sold after Vista received a compelling off-market offer, each of the investments was a planned sale after Vista met or exceeded its business plans, according to company President Jonathan Barach. 

“These dispositions represented opportunities to markedly outperform our pro forma and return money to our investors. We look forward to the challenge of re-deploying equity into new opportunities in our target markets, and repeating that process,” said Barach.  

The sale of The Pointe comes only two years after Vista and its partner acquired the garden-style community, then known as Green Leaf River Pointe.  Under Vista’s direction, the joint venture completed a unit renovation program that included new flooring, upgraded lighting fixtures, stainless steel appliances and refreshed cabinets and countertops.  The clubhouse, pool deck and outdoor amenities were also upgraded. 

Josh McDonald, First Vice President in CBRE’s Institutional Multifamily Investment Service’s team out of the Portland, OR office, represented Vista in the transaction.  

With the sale of the four assets, which significantly enhances Vista’s internally-capitalized balance sheet, the company is targeting the acquisition of multifamily and flex R&D commercial office property in Denver, Salt Lake City as well as key markets in the Pacific Northwest.

Vista Investment Group in partnership with  Tokyu Land US Corporation (“TLUS”),a fully-integrated real estate development and investment company,has acquired the Northridge Apartments, a 221-unit garden-style apartment community in the San Francisco East Bay submarket of Pleasant Hill for $91 million.   This marks Vista and TLUS’ first partnership together.

“Renters who have been priced out of expensive markets like San Francisco and Oakland are migrating to the East Bay in search of more affordable alternatives,” said Vista Investment Group President Jonathan Barach.   “They are finding that Pleasant Hill has a great school system, a robust amenity base and rents at a considerable discount to neighboring cities Walnut Creek, Lafayette and Orinda.” 

Nobuhide Kashiwagi, President of TLUS, stated, “This acquisition fits well within our value-add investment strategy, and marks our first acquisition in the Bay Area. We are excited about the trajectory of growth in the market, and feel Northridge Apartments is well positioned to capture that momentum.” 

Stanford Jones, Salvatore Saglimbeni, Philip Saglimbeni and Alex Tartaglia from Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller, Equity Residential, whichhas owned the property for more than 20 years.  

“The property’s attractive location, combined with the ongoing need for high-quality, affordable multifamily assets, make it an ideal value-add opportunity for Vista and TLUS,” added IPA senior managing director Salvatore Saglimbeni.  

Built in 1974, the Northridge Apartments are located at 235 Camelback Road.  The studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment homes are situated in 16 low-rise residential buildings on a 6.63-acre site.   Common area amenities include a clubhouse, two swimming pools, fitness center and laundry facilities.  Vista’s capital improvement planincludes upgrading common areas, amenities andrenovating apartment interiors as units roll.

The property is adjacent to Diablo Valley College, 2.5 miles from the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Concord station, and minutes to Interstate 680, which leads to major employment centers in Walnut Creek and the Tri-Valley (San Ramon, Pleasanton and Dublin). The Pleasant Hill Shopping Center is walking distance away and the Sunvalley and Willows shopping centers are within 1.5 miles. Pleasant Hill’s downtown corridor, located 2.2 miles from Northridge, features an authentic, pedestrian-friendly retail district with more than 40 dining, shopping and entertainment options highlighted by a Century 16 Theatre.

Northridge Apartments is the latest in a series of West Coast multifamily acquisitions totaling more than $160 million since the beginning of the year for Los Angeles-based Vista Investment Group.  The other assets are located in Portland, OR, and Los Angeles.  Vista Investment Group’s portfolio includes more than 2,000 multifamily units and approximately 1.8 million square feet of office space throughout the West Coast, including 670,000 square feet of commercial office space in the San Francisco Bay Area.