Older Walnut Creek apartment complex with 100-plus units lands buyer

WALNUT CREEK — A California real estate firm has grabbed an older apartment complex in Walnut Creek in a deal that shows residential complexes can still draw investors despite an uncertain economy.

The apartment complex, located at 530 North Civic Drive in Walnut Creek, has been bought for slightly under $58 million, according to documents filed on Nov. 6 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office.

The just-bought residential property, known as The Boulders, consists of 164 units, which are primarily in two-story buildings on both sides of North Civic Drive near Walden Road in Walnut Creek, according to information posted on the apartments.com website.

The transaction points to a purchase price of $353,500 a unit. That’s somewhat below the per-unit price of several apartment purchases in the Bay Area that occurred after the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Granite Capital Group, a Santa Barbara-based real estate investment firm that acted through an affiliate, bought the apartment complex, the county documents show.

San Mateo-based Prometheus, which is one of the Bay Area’s largest and most savvy real estate firms, sold the apartment complex. The residential property was built in 1971, the apartments.com site states.

Granite Capital seeks out attractive real estate opportunities on behalf of high-net-worth investors, according to the company’s website.

Before the just-completed Walnut Creek purchase, Granite Capital’s apartment investments were all located outside of the Bay Area and were primarily in Colorado, Texas, Montana and the eastern Los Angeles County city of Diamond Bar.

The Walnut Creek residential purchase appears to be Granite Capital’s only current real estate investment in the Bay Area, a review of the company’s website shows.

Monthly rents at the apartment complex range from $2,147 to $2,899, according to the apartments.com site. The complex consists of a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom units.