By Hannah Kanik – Reporter, San Francisco Business Times
Apr 9, 2025
A Union City apartment complex now has a new owner.
San Francisco-based Roxborough Group and Beverly Hills-based Camden
Pacific Partners teamed up via an affiliate to buy the Union Flats — a 243-unit
apartment complex in Union City for $81.6 million, the companies announced
Wednesday. It joins a handful of multifamily properties in the East Bay to trade
hands in recent months.
The 93.4% occupied property at 34588 11th St. was built in 2018 by developer
Windflower Properties and sits directly across from the Union City
BART station.
David Barker Architects said in 2017 when the project was under construction
that it was among the largest multifamily properties in the country to use
modular construction — where developers build prefabricated components in a
factory and assemble them on-site, which is said to help speed up the
construction process and reduce costs.
The apartment project was also part of a 20-year, billion-dollar effort to
transform the underused area surrounding the Union City BART station into a
walkable, vibrant neighborhood. The city spent more than $163 million of
public money on revitalizing the neighborhood, with an additional $850
million invested or planned from the private sector to develop new housing.
The purchase is Roxborough’s first multifamily acquisition in Northern
California within Roxborough Fund III, L.P. — a $518-million discretionary fund
focused on value-add investments. Roxborough’s portfolio includes more than
2,500 rental housing units across its active investment funds.
“The acquisition of The Union Flats aligns with Roxborough’s strategy of
acquiring infill apartment communities at a significant discount to replacement
cost in markets with high barriers to entry and increasing demand,” said
Michael Pence, head of multifamily acquisitions at Roxborough, in a release.
Sares-Regis Group will manage The Union Flats property. Eastdil Secured
represented the seller and arranged acquisition financing for the new
ownership group, which was provided by New York Life Real Estate Investors.
The $81.6 million price tag on the apartment complex is nearly 20% below its
appraised value. The Alameda County Tax Assessor estimated a $100 million
value in July 2024, public records show.
Other East Bay apartment buildings have also started to trade hands recently.
Last month, Berkeley-based Read Investments bought the Higby, a 98-unit,
eight-story apartment building in Berkeley for $32 million after the property
was seized by its lender via deed in lieu of foreclosure in August. The
transaction totaled 42% below its assessed value and 38% less than what it
traded for previously.
Two Oakland apartment buildings also traded earlier this year for roughly half
of their assessed values. The Martin Group in January bought 1889 Harrison St,
a seven-story, 224-unit apartment building in downtown Oakland, for $61
million. Three Steps Properties LP, an Oakland-based private investment
company with ties to a powerful political family, bought a 257-unit apartment
at 447 17th St. for $99 million.
Last month, Artemis Real Estate Partners bought Berkeley Central at 2055
Center Street from CityView for $55 million, 40% below the assessed value of
the property.