IRVINE, CA – The Bascom Group has acquired Old River Place, a 249-unit single family residential-style, build to rent multifamily residential property located in the highly desirable Southwest submarket of Bakersfield, California. The purchase price was $56,633,500 or $227,444 per unit.
Despite the high-interest rate environment and anemic property sale market, the property marks Bascom’s sixth acquisition of 2024 and twenty sixth multifamily acquisition in California’s Central Valley. Annette Rice and Jamie Kline of JLL arranged the debt financing for the acquisition with TPG Real Estate Finance Trust as the lender. The seller was represented by The Mogharebi Group’s investment sales team led by Mark Bonas. Apartment Management Consultants will provide property management services and SD-CAP will provide construction management.
The purchase of Old River Place comes on the heels of five previous 2024 acquisitions made by Bascom. Bascom remains highly active pursuing new acquisitions throughout the United States and intends to continue portfolio expansion through year-end.
Bascom has been one of the most active apartment buyers in California and the Central Valley partnering with institutional and private capital. Prior to purchasing Old River Place, Bascom had acquired 130 multifamily properties and 20,773 units in California, with 25 of those properties and 3,619 units located in the Central Valley. Over the past six months, Bascom has completed roughly $265 million in multifamily acquisitions nationwide.
Joe Ferguson, Acquisition Manager for Bascom, states “Old River Place is a uniquely well-constructed build to rent community in the affluent area of Southwest Bakersfield. Each unit at the property has an attached two-car garage and dedicated outdoor space. Old River Place adds another well-located, recently built asset to the Bascom portfolio that should perform well in a market that needs housing. The high-interest rate environment and the resulting increased monthly mortgage payment has only added to the desirability of these build to rent communities. The Bakersfield market continues to demonstrate attractive multifamily fundamentals, and we are excited to strengthen our footprint in one of California’s fastest growing regions.”
Located within the desirable Southwest submarket of Bakersfield, Old River Place offers residents a low-density single-family residential style community with an attractive unit mix of two- and three-bedroom units. The property is adjacent to affluent Bakersfield neighborhoods such as Seven Oaks and Hagan Oaks, provides residents easy access to retailers like Sprouts, Trader Joes, Lululemon and Target, and accessibility to major employment drivers such as Cal State Bakersfield and Dignity Health – Mercy Hospital.
Bascom’s Lee Nguyen, Senior Vice President of Portfolio Operations, adds “Old River Place has been well-maintained while demonstrating consistent rental demand. As part of our strategic renovation program, Bascom intends to upgrade unit interiors with new appliances, countertops, backsplash, cabinetry, as well as enhancing the property’s exteriors and community amenities. All of the units remain in a classic or original condition, giving our operations team considerable room to add desirable elements while providing residents an affordable housing option in a well located, highly desirable rental community.”
Bakersfield has been one of California’s best performing apartment markets, highlighted by consistent occupancies above 95%. The strong fundamentals have been driven by limited new supply, high population growth (no large California city has grown more than Bakersfield over the last five years), and a diversifying economy. The city serves as a hub for various industries including agriculture, healthcare, energy, manufacturing, and a growing logistics industry. Bakersfield’s central location in California’s San Joaquin Valley makes it a key transportation hub. It’s well-positioned along major highways like Interstate 5 and State Route 99, facilitating efficient movement of goods between Northern and Southern California, as well as connecting to other states. As a result, major businesses continue to invest in Bakersfield for future growth. Notably, Tesla has plans to build the world’s largest supercharger station and Wonderful Co. recently announced a major expansion of their industrial park, which is projected to support 50,000 jobs.