PRESS

Oct
05
COVID-19 Led to Higher Vacancy Costs and Concessions in Student Housing

Campus adjacent and high-rise student properties see higher net rental income, NMHC annual survey showed.
By Paul Bergeron | October 5, 2021 | GlobeSt.com

Student housing operators were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to a report issued Monday by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC).

The 2021 NMHC Student Housing Income and Expense Survey includes detailed descriptive statistics for the 2020 calendar year income and expense statements of 953 private off-campus student housing properties, encompassing nearly 185,000 units and 529,000 beds across 47 states.

In 2020, many properties incurred higher vacancy costs and offered increased concessions in order to attract tenants.

Among a set of same-store properties, vacancy expenses as a percentage of gross potential rent increased between 2018 and 2020 by a median of 1.4 percentage points.

More specially, a majority (61.5 percent) of properties recorded an increase in vacancy costs over the two- year period. Similarly, nearly half (44 percent) of properties increased their concession offerings as a percentage of GPR over the last two years, compared to just 28.1 percent of properties that lowered their concessions (the remaining 27.9 percent of properties did not offer concessions in either 2018 or 2020).

(Read Full Article Here)

Apr
20
New high-rise planned for site of Seattle Go Center

The ‘Victory at the U’ building is still pending construction approval
By Timothy Phung | The Daily

Since 1995, the Nihon Ki-in Go Institute of the West, more simply known as the Seattle Go Center, has been located at the northeast corner of 7th and 45th in a building that also houses the Caring Pet Clinic.
The Go Center teaches and promotes the East Asian board game Go but also owns the building and property, a commodity becoming increasingly expensive in the U-District.

To better focus on its goals of promoting the game, the Go Center plans to sell its property for redevelopment into a 21- to 23-story high-rise.

“It was getting harder and harder for us to promote Go,” Bill Chiles, president of the Seattle Go Center, said. “Our core competency is promoting Go, teaching Go, and creating a community space, not being landowners.”

Dubbed “Victory at the U,” the building is one of 19 developments of 11 stories or taller planned or in design review in the U-District. This comes as a result of changes in zoning regulations in 2017, which not only allow for taller buildings to be built in the area but also reevaluate property values based on their zoning potential and thus make property taxes increase.

“We were particularly motivated by real estate being so pricy in Seattle for maintenance, insurance, and taxes,” Chiles said. “We’re very lucky to be at an up-and-coming bright spot with the incoming [light rail] station.”

The Seattle Go Center looked at several options for what to do with its current property and decided to sell it for redevelopment. The center formed a partnership with Champion Real Estate Company to look into redeveloping the lot into student housing with upward of 160 units.

“We identified this property (700 NE 45th St.) as a prime candidate for a student housing tower due to its development potential and walkability to UW’s campus,” Garrett Champion, senior vice president of Champion Real Estate Company, said in an email.

The Los Angeles–based real estate company already owns a multifamily building in South Lake Union, so this will be the company’s second investment in Seattle and first in the U-District.

“It’s going to be the first building people see when they come to the U-District,” Champion said. “It’s also uniquely located atop a hill at 7th and 45th and will feature unobstructed views of South Lake Union once completed.”

The design of the building, which has yet to be confirmed, was done by the Seattle-based architectural firm Weber Thompson. In addition to Victory at the U, the firm is also responsible for the designs of Lakeview Student Housing Tower and Trailside Student Living, both of which are currently under construction.
Victory at the U is going through the city’s approval process to obtain its Master Use Permit, with construction projected to commence in the final months of 2022.

As for the Seattle Go Center, it plans to remain at the same location on the property after the construction of the high-rise. A stipulation of its sale agreement to Champion Real Estate is that it will be guaranteed a space to lease in the building.

“For two years when there is not a building, we will have to rent a space nearby,” Chiles said. “But like we are now on the second floor of the current building, we will be on the second floor of the new building for a long time.”

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Mar
15
Champion Acquires USC-Adjacent Student Housing for $14M

By: Connect Media

L.A.-based Champion Real Estate Company has acquired a 47-unit, potential 102-bed, student housing community located at 2353 Portland St. in Los Angeles from Century Park, LLC for $14.1 million.

Champion will rename the property ‘Victory on Portland’. It is the third addition to the company’s student-housing portfolio near the University of Southern California campus.

Work will begin immediately on a complete overhaul of the 1964-constructed apartment complex. The renovation will consist of modernizing unit interiors with new stainless steel appliances, HVAC units, stone countertops, modern cabinetry and laminate wood flooring in each unit.  Champion will also fully furnish the units to include beds, couches, chairs, coffee tables, dining tables, flat screen televisions, cable, Internet, WiFi, Sonos soundbars and other amenities.

John Taksa of RE/MAX Commercial & Investment Realty represented Champion and the seller.

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Visit: Off Campus USC Student Housing Victory on Portland

Jan
24
Northridge Multifamily Complex Acquired for $14.9 Million

Champion Real Estate Co. has acquired Valleywood Apartments, a 42-unit multifamily property in Northridge, for $14.9 million.

The Brentwood company, which purchased the property from an undisclosed private owner, also announced plans for Valleywood Apartments LLC, a subsidiary of Champion, to invest $2.3 million into capital improvements. The complex was formerly called Willows Apartments.

The property is located at 17806 Lassen St. and features six one-bedroom/one-bathroom units and 36 two-bedroom/two-bathroom units.

Renovations, which will begin immediately, include new countertops, flooring, cabinets, stainless steel appliances and washer and dryers.

The company will also make improvements the courtyard pool deck area as central amenity space.

In addition to these cosmetic improvements, Champion will undertake large-scale infrastructure repairs to the plumbing and electrical systems, plus roof replacement. The company added that it intends to hold onto and manage the property.

“Champion was attracted to this community because of its proximity to California State University – Northridge, which has the largest undergraduate population of the 23-campus Cal State University System,” said Champion Real Estate Company Senior Vice President Garrett Champion. “CSUN has transformed from a commuter school to a traditional university with students seeking a correlative lifestyle reflecting that change, which includes campus-adjacent housing.”

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Nov
06
All Eyes Will Be On Culver City When Google, Amazon, Apple And Others Move In

Champion Real Estate Co. CEO Bob Champion said the state is seeing a housing shortfall of 3.5 million to 4 million units, a number that could grow to 6 million units by 2030. Champion estimates Los Angeles needs to manufacture 2 million units of housing in the next 10 years to keep up with demand. He said currently the city is only producing 22,000 units of the 180,000 units needed annually to meet the minimum demand…. “It’s not an affordability problem,” Champion said. “It’s a supply problem. The lack of supply is pushing up the cost of housing in areas that are most desirous to live.”

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Nov
06
Supertoro, HiroNori Craft Ramen Headed for Brick Works in LA

CBRE announced that Supertoro and HiroNori Craft Ramen have signed leases at Brick Works, a retail collective in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Zachary Card, Erik Krasney and Jamie Rogers of CBRE represented the landlord, Champion Real Estate Company, in the lease agreement. Located in the heart of Echo Park at 1485-1501 W. Sunset Boulevard, Brick Works is a new adaptive reuse development, comprised of several transformed mid-century buildings with more than 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

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Apr
01
Newmark Realty Capital Secures $21.7MM In Financing For Union Bay Apartments In Seattle

In January 2019, Champion SLU, LLC successfully completed the refinance of the Acquisition Bridge Loan with the Senior Refinance Loan. We are excited to own Union Bay Apartments over the long term. The property is a low leverage, Class A property in the core South Lake Union submarket with strong and growing annual cash distributions with forecasted continued asset appreciation.

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Sep
29
Champion Real Estate adds to its Glendale apartment portfolio
The firm paid $14M for 2 properties; with improvements planned

By Greg Cornfield | September 24, 2018 03:00PM

Champion Real Estate Company is doubling up on its investment in Glendale multifamily projects this year.

The company said it paid $14.12 million for two apartment properties in Glendale. This comes after the firm bought two other apartment complexes in Glendale for $33.6 million earlier this year.

The most recent acquisition includes a 36-unit apartment community at 348 W. Chevy Chase Drive, and a 26-unit community at 1119-1123 E. Elk Ave. Champion will begin a $2.6-million renovation for both the interior and exterior. The plan includes retrofitting both properties and addressing deferred maintenance issues, Champion explained in a release.

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ABOUT US
Champion specializes in value-add investing and development in “A” locations in urban-infill areas. The current investment portfolio includes properties in California, Seattle, and Nashville, and Champion is actively underwriting new investments in top 50 metro areas across the country.
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