Creative Multifamily’s recently renovated an apartment building at 5515-5525 Media Drive in Highland Park, northeast of downtown LA. Highland Park is burgeoning as young, urban creatives flock to the area for its proximity to Downtown, Pasadena, Glendale, and Burbank. This property, surrounded by historical craftsman homes, is situated perfectly for what the neighborhood has to offer.  It is close to the Goldline light rail station, retail on Figueroa Street, hip bars, and restaurants that are all revitalizing Highland Park. Recently named one of LA’s hottest up-and-coming markets by Redfin and LA’s greatest neighborhood by LA Weekly, Highland Park now offers the same unique qualities and amenities that have made Silver Lake and Echo Park go-to locations for the hip and creative classes.

The property consists of 2 adjacent buildings composed of 16 units. Each unit is completely remodeled and has its own washer, dryer, and new stainless steel appliances. Some units have unique polished concrete floors and large private patios, almost as large as the units themselves. We also converted some one bedroom units to micro two bedrooms of just over 600 square feet. The layout for each unit was redesigned to maximize living space, emphasize natural light, and accentuate architectural elements. These apartments, with their spacious layouts and modern finishing, are perfect for the young creatives that inhabit Highland Park.

PMI has completed construction at 251 Rosemont Avenue, a bamboo-enclosed, bungalow-style apartment complex adjacent to Echo Park and downtown Los Angeles. With the growth of hip neighborhoods around Echo Park, PMI has expanded south of highway 101 to Rosemont Avenue, immediately south of Temple Street.

This newly renovated property consists of 9 separate buildings and 10 trendy units that have been modernized to maximize natural light and space efficiency. Each unit is a separate bungalow and boasts its own washer and dryer, large private patio, high ceilings, and a totally contemporary look. Some units even have exposed wood ceilings, similar to those found in creative offices.

The inability to develop high density apartments in Echo  Park and Silver Lake has driven apartment developers towards Temple Street, one half block from Rosemont.  More than five new large scale apartment projects have been – or are being – developed along Temple Street, with two bedroom rents starting at $2,700 per unit. Even more of these projects are still in planning. These new developments contribute to the rapid gentrification of Temple Street, just south of Echo Park and Silver Lake.

Exposed Wood Ceilings

At our recently completed 306 Bonnie Brae apartment complex in Echo Park, PMI converted 600 square foot one bedroom units into very efficient and hip two bedroom units. PMI reconfigured the units to provide a great room with kitchen and two smaller bedrooms.

One way we know if a neighborhood is gentrifying is the establishment of retail catering to higher income young residents. The Temple Street area, south of the 101 Freeway and adjacent to Silver Lake and Echo Park, is showing signs of gentrification as many new luxury apartment properties are being built in this area.

Now a new juice bar named Drink Houz opened on the ground floor of the recently completed HoM apartment complex at Robinson and Temple. This specialty juicery offers up cold-pressed probiotic juices, coffee, kombucha on tap, and healthy meal options. The juice bar also plans to offer a delivery service and online ordering to further accommodate busy professionals and tenants. This establishment contrasts with many of the surrounding businesses that mostly cater to the community’s middle to lower income and primarily Hispanic population.

Actress-turned-lifestyle entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow has grown her company Goop from a newsletter into a full-on force that offers advice on a wide range of topics including fashion, food, wellness, and travel. Often, the products it endorses carry outrageous price tags (a $4,700 juicer?) that some argue only an actress-turned-lifestyle-entrepreneur could afford.

The company began humbly in Paltrow’s home in London, then moved to a barn on her property in Brentwood. Less than two years ago, reports Architectural Digest, the expanding business has moved into “no-frills” Santa Monica warehouse that once housed chickens. Paltrow called in RH (the post-rebrand name of Restoration Hardware) to redo the space and give it that Goopy feel.

Paltrow says the resulting workspace really captures the “raw and energetic … very California” vibe of the company’s first office.

A variety of pendant lamps and tables set up as flexible work areas run throughout the space, which is a textbook warehouse with exposed trusses, high airy ceilings, and concrete floors.

It’s nothing cutting edge or even really exciting, but it does look comfortable. And that’s kind of the point, says Paltrow: “Since we think of Goop as a family, we wanted everyone to feel at home.”

https://la.curbed.com/2017/5/3/15532422/gwyneth-paltrow-goop-headquarters-santa-monica

PMI is in the process of a substantially renovating its 200 unit apartment property in El Sobrante in the East Bay of California , approximately a 26 minute drive to San Francisco in the non rush hour traffic.  Renamed Solace Apartments, the property will be packed with amenities:

• Clubhouse with Fireplace, Media Lounge and Indoor/ Outdoor Entertaining Kitchen
• Fitness Center/Yoga Studio with Streamable Instructional Classes
• Multiple Work Stations
• Pool, Spa and Outdoor Lounge Areas with Trellis, BBQ’s, Cabanas and Large Fire Pit to Gather Friends
• Trellised Deck Overlooking Pool
• Pet Parlor/Doggie Park
• Parcel Delivery Lockers & Mail Room
• Bike Friendly – Bike Repair Station
• Barbecue Grills
• Creek & Mountain Views
• Free High Speed WIFI in Common Area Amenities

One of the most attractive things about living at Solace Apartment Homes is that it is central to everything. You’re close enough to enjoy the nature reserves around the area while also taking advantage of everything that California’s second largest metropolitan area has to offer, like quick trips to San Francisco, Berkeley, and Napa Valley. Daily conveniences like Sprouts, Trader Joes, Starbucks and a Raley’s supermarket are all within close proximity.

Wildcat Park, a wildlife reserve, is a five-minute drive away. This is a perfect location for the outdoorsy types who enjoy hiking and mountain biking along trails; you’ll forget that you even live in the Bay Area!

Solace Apartment Homes’ prime location comes with various transportation options for its residents. Solace is minutes from I-80, and the area is serviced heavily by Uber and Lyft drivers. There is an AC Transit Bus stop located on the corner of the property, a BART station approximately four miles away, and the Richmond Parkway Transit where you can Park and Share a Ride approximately two miles away.

Solace Apartment Homes is a wonderful residential community for people who love living in the Bay Area but want some distance from the congested and busy streets of larger cities.

gym

Great Room

Kitchen

Dining

Lounge

yoga room

gym

We have completed construction at 128 North Rampart, a nine unit apartment renovation  near  Echo Park.  PMI ventured a half mile south of Echo Park– about two blocks north of Beverly Boulevard.  Yet, the complex is still within a mile of the Echo Park Lake.    PMI converted studios to micro one bedrooms and one bedrooms to micro two bedrooms.  At slightly lower rents, PMI is targeting its same clientele with its hip new loft like look.

We are currently in the expansion phase of the business cycle.  We are typically not buyers during this phase.  We are usually buyers during the  recovery phase of the cycle. The rewards during the recovery phase are great.   Values can more than double or triple over time.

We have a very difficult time navigating the expansion phase of the cycle for investment opportunities. During this phase, as is now now occurring, values reach record highs and are hard to reconcile with our past experience.  As the expansion continues, prices reach ever higher levels, and many short term investors reap very high IRR yields.  For example, many offices properties are selling for $800 to $1,100 per square foot in Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Investors who purchased and renovated properties at $600 per square foot or even higher during the last few years are now selling and making attractive IRR yields given the short holding period.  Investors who purchased Westside apartment buildings at 4 to 5% cap rates are now the selling them at higher rents at 3 to 4% cap rates.   We view this as a risky enterprise.  The longer the expansion continues, the more overly conservative we appear.  Up it goes until it blows, and the higher it goes, the bigger it blows.

During this expansion phase, we are reaping the fruits of our gains by selling, raising rents, and refinancing in order to distribute money to our investors; building the stability of our portfolio by pursuing better credit tenants and longer term lease;,  bolstering our cash resources by refinancing to replenish reserves; and asking our investors to keep some dry powder in preparation for the next great buying opportunity.”  We have experienced several of these buying opportunities where certain real estate prices fall to shocking levels.

We seem to follow the musings of Warren Buffet in his recent (February 25, 2017) letter to investors:

“…I have no magic plan to add earnings except to dream big and to be prepared mentally and financially to act fast when opportunities present themselves. Every decade or so, dark clouds will fill the economic skies, and they will briefly rain gold. When downpours of that sort occur, it’s imperative that we rush outdoors carrying washtubs, not teaspoons….”

Real estate investors tend to be optimists. It takes a lot of patience and discipline to deploy this strategy.

The recent rains have exposed the weaknesses in our roofs and drainage. Water issues abound resulting from the decade high rainfall that occurred in mid February. Experts are quick to recommend a solution: new roofs, roof sections, gutters, swails, waterproofing, french drains, etc. From my experience, I would first use a hose ,if possible, to identify the cause of the leak. You may need to expose the structure under the drywall to accomplish this task. Once the remediation is complete, I would again use a hose to test the success of the remediation. For more complex jobs, you can hire a water leak testing company.