It closed on the 115-unit Axis 2300 property last month, marking Advanced’s first purchase of 2021.
“We are excited about this unique asset that contains condo-quality apartment units averaging approximately 1,500 square feet,” said President Richard Julian in a statement.
The acquisition brings Advanced’s dealmaking in the past year to north of $400 million across seven purchases.
For Sale to For Lease
Axis was built in 2010 as a for-sale condominium project, but sold for a reported $27 million before it was completed to San Mateo-based apartment REIT Essex Property Trust.
Amenities at the for-rent project at Von Karman Avenue and Dupont Drive about a mile from John Wayne Airport include a pool, gym, recreation room and covered outdoor gathering areas. Units include modern appliances, fireplaces and 11-foot ceilings.
“The access to the job-rich Irvine Business Complex, John Wayne Airport, the 405 freeway and nearby Newport Beach, as well as the quality podium construction, made this property extremely appealing,” Julian said.
“We plan a light renovation and a long-term hold of this difficult-to-replace asset.”
Financing, Funds
Advanced financed the deal through a $29 million Fannie Mae loan, a combination of final exchange funds from its 2020 sale of their Huntington Beach mobile home park, as well as a private equity fund.
The Business Journal reported in November that Advanced, in partnership with Mills Land & Water, sold a collection of mobile home sites on nearly 50 acres of land along the Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach.
Property records indicate the deal totaled more than $200 million, in one of the area’s top real estate deals of the past year.
Advanced generated about $100 million in proceeds from the deal, and had an additional $150 million to spend from a private capital funding round that wrapped in October.
Advanced has been deploying these proceeds over the past year, shelling out approximately $350 million for 1,166 units across six properties, not including the Axis 2300 purchase.
The buys include one of the top apartment deals of the year: the $63.8 million sale of the Solare apartments in Santa Ana (see list, page 24).
