Rise Secures $93M Refi for Seattle Apartment Buildings

Rise Properties Trust has secured $92.5 million in loans to refinance two decade-old apartment buildings in Seattle.

The Toronto-based real estate investment trust led by Barrett Sigmund obtained the loans tied to the 131-unit Joseph Arnold Lofts at 62 Cedar Street in Belltown and the 135-unit Jack Apartments at 1427 11th Avenue in Capitol Hill, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported.

Financial terms of the five-year loans provided by Mesa West Capital were not disclosed. Broker James Bach of CBRE arranged the financing.

The combined occupancy of both buildings is 93 percent.

Each building was recently revamped and is poised to take advantage of “strong demand drivers and Downtown’s improving post-pandemic multifamily fundamentals,” Josh Westerberg, executive director of Mesa West’s office in San Francisco, said in a statement.

The 12-story Joseph Arnold Lofts, built in 2013, was bought by Rise in 2019 for $74.5 million, or $568,702 per unit, with financing from Mesa West. King County has assessed the property at $54.2 million.

The apartments are a block from the new Waterfront Park, with views of Elliott Bay, the Space Needle and Downtown. Rents range from $2,500 to $9,768, according to its website.

The six-story Jack Apartments, built in 2016, was acquired by Rise in 2018 for $69 million, or $511,111 per unit. Its assessed value is $42.3 million.

An affordable one-bedroom apartment rents for $1,950, while the asking rent for a non-subsidized unit is $2,675, according to its website.

Mesa West predicts strong job growth in greater Seattle and an increase in residential demand Downtown because of return-to-work mandates. Construction starts are down, which will result in continued strong absorption rates and rental growth over the next 12 to 18 months, it said.

“Multifamily demand has been strong, which has helped offset the influx of new supply to the market,” Westerberg of Mesa West said. “As construction starts have halted, the new and upcoming supply should be fully absorbed in the next two years, which should help accelerate rent growth in the years to come.”

Rise Properties Trust, founded in 2012 by Kari Anderson, owns 6,180 apartments across Seattle and Portland, according to its website. It’s a private Canadian real estate investment trust that buys underperforming assets, mostly in the Pacific Northwest, and revitalizes them.

In September, Rise bought a 74-unit apartment complex in Bellevue for $30 million, or $405,405 per unit.

— Dana Bartholomew