Seattle, WA – Marking its third Seattle-area acquisition since July, Pathfinder Partners LLC – a San Diego-based firm which makes opportunistic investments in distressed real estate assets and defaulted loans – has acquired a 78-unit apartment community at 29421 Pacific Highway South, in Federal Way, Wash.
The View at Redondo, purchased for $5.1 million from the real estate-owned department of a private lender, is located in a working class neighborhood south of Seattle in close proximity to major employers, including the Port of Tacoma and Weyerhaeuser Company.
According to Lorne Polger, senior managing director of Pathfinder Partners, this latest purchase reflects Pathfinder’s bullish outlook on the Seattle area multifamily market. In February, Pathfinder acquired the senior loan and foreclosed on the 29-unit Chelsea Court II condominium project near Totem Lake in Kirkland. and in July, 2011, Pathfinder acquired the senior loan on The Sanctuary, a century-old church in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood that was converted into 12 luxury townhomes. Polger notes that Chelsea, which is being operated as a rental community, is already 50 percent leased and sales at The Sanctuary have been robust – with one-half of the community sold during the initial 60 days of marketing.
“We are especially excited about the Seattle market because of its strong underlying dynamics,” said Polger. “The growing population, great parks and recreational opportunities, as well as a significant employment base that includes Boeing, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Costco and Starbucks are all attractive drivers for the local real estate market.”
The View at Redondo consists of four wood-framed, three-story buildings with 48 one-bedroom, one-bath units and 30 two-bedroom, two-bath apartments. The units range from 700- to 1,000-square-feet with an average size of 813-square-feet. The gated-complex has a fitness center and clubhouse, along with barbecue grills.
Polger said plans call for repainting and reroofing as well as upgrading the interiors – from new kitchen appliances, countertops and flooring, to new bathrooms and updated fireplaces. “We see this as an opportunity to improve the property and raise rents and occupancy with an eye toward a sale in several years,” he added.
Built on a 2.95-acre parcel on Pacific Highway, the apartment community is conveniently located on the main bus route through the area – 20 miles south of downtown Seattle and eight miles south of Seattle Tacoma International Airport. It is near shopping areas, including the Commons at Federal Way, a regional mall with a mix of shopping, dining and movie theaters.
About Pathfinder Partners, LLC
Headquartered in San Diego, Pathfinder Partners was founded by Lorne Polger and Mitch Siegler in 2006 to make opportunistic investments in distressed real estate assets and defaulted loans, with a focus on multifamily real estate projects. In addition to seeking opportunities to add value by providing liquidity to selling financial institutions, Pathfinder also seeks to maximize value through property enhancements, improvements in operations, marketing and property positioning and other strategies. For more information, visit www.pathfinderfunds.com or contact Lorne Polger at 858-625-5285.