Little Italy Multifamily Generates Competitive Buyer Activity

San Diego is the third largest U.S. life science hub and holds the top spot for expected tech hiring growth in the country. San Diego’s booming employment scene will help drive fundamentals for the new ownership of Il Palazzo, a 108-unit multifamily community located in the Little Italy neighborhood, which recently sold for $45.3 million.

Il Palazzo is located at 2040 Columbia St., also bounded by Grape St., India St. and Hawthorne St., offering access to downtown San Diego. Originally built in 2004, the five-story mid-rise property totals 77,679 rentable square feet, includes studio, one- and two-bedroom units, and offers a rare opportunity to acquire a value-add opportunity in a sought-after neighborhood in San Diego.

“Even amid the pandemic, the process was extremely competitive,” says Darcy Miramontes, who led the seller team. “The property’s sought-after location in the desirable Little Italy neighborhood generated a lot of interest.”

JLL represented the seller, The Picerne Group, to complete the sale to the buyer, Fairfield Residential. JLL also worked on behalf of Fairfield to arrange the 10-year 2.84 percent $27 million acquisition financing through the lender. The JLL seller team was led by Miramontes along with Sean Deasy and Kip Malo. Financing was led by Aldon Cole and Jamie Kline. JLL was able to run a competitive debt process on a short timeline, Kline says.

“The transaction garnered a lot of interest from a diverse range of capital sources,” he says. “We were able to lock rate early in the process with the lender, allowing the buyer to avoid the recent run up in Treasuries.”