Tag Archives: rentals

U-Haul storage center approved in Gorst

U-HAUL LOGOA familiar name in moving is putting down roots in Gorst.

U-Haul recently purchased a storage center inside the triangle formed by the junction of Highway 3 and Highway 16.

Now the county has approved a project to expand the existing facility with a three-story, 50,000-square-foot storage building and attached warehouse.

u-haul.gorstNotice of administrative conditional use permit approval was posted May 18. 

The facility will provide climate-controlled storage and moving vehicle rentals, according to the notice.

Storage facilities seem to be sprouting up all over these days.

Construction on one self storage complex is underway on Randall Way in Silverdale. It’s set to open next winter.

Meanwhile, a Seattle company is considering a three-story facility by Safeway in Poulsbo.

Big apartment complexes are selling in Kitsap

2Q==Kitsap’s rental housing market is hot and investors have taken notice.

At least eight large apartment complexes sold in the past year for a combined $174 million, according to county records.

One Los Angeles investment group, Benedict Canyon Equities, appears to have acquired four apartment complexes in Silverdale for more than $30 million each. My calls to Benedict Canyon were not returned.

Here’s a rundown of major apartment sales since the start of 2015, ranked by sale price:

TreeTops, Silverdale — $40.25 million

treetopsSale date: Dec. 11, 2015

Assessed value: $20.2 million

Sold by: Treetops Investors LLC. to Tahoe Lane Apartments LLC.

Location: 1206 NW Tahoe Lane, off Ridgetop Boulevard NW.

Notes: Benedict Canyon Equities is the listed taxpayer.

Wellington, Silverdale — $38.25 million

wellingtonSale date: Sept. 24, 2015

Assessed value: $19.99 million

Sold by: GFS Wellington LLC. to Gemini Wellington Fee Owner LLC.

Location:  3435 NW Kensington Lane, off Randall Way.

Notes: This property is part of TruAmerica’s portfolio. TruAmerica has its headquarters at the same address as Benedict Canyon Equities.

Santa Fe Ridge, Silverdale — $37.5 million

santa.feSale date: Jan. 29, 2016

Assessed value: $21.75 million

Sold by: SK Santa Fe Ridge LLC to Santa Fe Ridge Apartments LLC.

Location: 1410 NW Santa Fe Lane,  off Ridgetop Boulevard.

Notes: Benedict Canyon Equities is the listed taxpayer.

Madison at Ridgetop, Silverdale — $31.25 million

madisonridgetopsSale date: Sept. 24, 2015

Assessed value: $18.12 million

Sold by: GFS Ridgetop LLC. to Gemini Ridgetop Fee Owner LLC.

Location: 11150 Voyager Lane NW, off Ridgetop Boulevard NW.

Notes: This property is part of TruAmerica’s portfolio. TruAmerica has its headquarters at the same address as Benedict Canyon Equities.

Bremerton Gardens, Bremerton — $13 million

9k=Sale date: March 9, 2016

Assessed value: $12.67 million

Sold by: Bremerton Stephanus I LLC. to Bremerton Fee Owner LLC.

Location: 4038 Mountain View Drive, off lower Wheaton Way in Manette

Notes: The new owner is an affilliate of New Standard Equities of Los Angeles. They plan major renovations.

Admiral Manor, Bremerton — $5.83 million

B0012880399--834114Sale date: Jan. 22, 2016

Assessed value: $5.49 million

Sold by: Admiral Manor LLC. to Project S12 LLC.

Location: 145 Bloomington Ave., off Burwell Street.

Notes: The owner is an affiliate of The Stratford Company of Seattle. They plan major renovations.

Camelia, Bainbridge Island — $4.57 million

cameliaSale date: March 9, 2016

Assessed value: $2.19 million

Sold by: Ihland Apartments LLC. to LBG Bainbridge LLC.

Location: 235 Camelia Loop NE, just southeast of the library off Madison Avenue.

Notes: The new owner appears to be an affiliate of a Vancouver, B.C. company. (Corrects a HQ location I listed earlier.)

Woodcreek, Poulsbo — $3 million

woodcreekSale date: Sept. 8

Assessed value: $1.53 million

Sold by: Woodcreek Associates to Poulsbo 40 LLC.

Location: 2160 NE Hostmark Street, across from Poulsbo Middle School.

Notes: New owner is based in San Diego. This complex was originally subsidized by a federal loan, but was recently converted to market rate apartments.

UPDATE: This post was updated to reflect that the Wellington and Ridgetop apartments are owned by TruAmerica.

Assessed values are for the 2016 tax year. Check back this week for a roundup of major commercial real estate sales from the first quarter of 2016.

Average apartment rent in Kitsap reaches $1,077

12096541_10206510262029092_907327638897249611_nKitsap’s rental market remains tight, but rents and vacancy rates seem to be steadying.

Average rent at large apartment complexes was $1,077 a month in the first quarter of 2016, a $6 increase from the fourth quarter of 2015.

Rent was up about $116 from a year ago, a 12 percent change, according to numbers provided by Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington.

Vacancy rates ticked up for the third straight quarter, reaching 4.22 percent.

The opening of the 71-unit 606 apartments in downtown Bremerton likely played a role in increasing vacancies. Bremerton’s vacancy rate jumped from 2.64 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 4.53 percent in first quarter of 2016.

Poulsbo/Bainbridge Island remained the tightest submarket, with a 2.91 percent vacancy rate.

In his quarterly report, Cain noted the shortage of homes for sale in the region has been a boon for rental owners.

“The tight home sale market and moderate level of new apartment construction will help keep pressure on rentals,” Cain wrote. “We expect the market to flourish this year.”

Here’s a graphical look at Kitsap rental trends:

Application submitted for Viking Way apartments

Arendal_NOA_wmapspDevelopers are moving ahead with plans for a 91-unit apartment complex on Viking Way in Poulsbo.

A site plan permit application for “Arendal on Viking” was filed with the city Monday.

Plans show four apartment buildings spaced across the 7.6 acre property, which lies east of Viking Way, just south of the Highway 305 intersection.

The complex will be served by 184 parking spaces, with access off Viking. Planned amenities include a clubhouse, barbecue area, bicycle storage and a dog park.

According to the notice of application, there is a category 3 wetland on the property, and the developer is proposing a 25 percent buffer reduction.

The applicant is Viking Avenue Properties, LLC., headed by Kelly Clark of Kingston.

Public comments on the project will be taken through April 5, and can be sent to 200 NE Moe Street,  Poulsbo, WA 98370 or plan&econ@cityofpoulsbo.com. Plans can be viewed at City Hall.

The full notice of application is posted below: Continue reading →

New Admiral Manor owner wants to help ‘revitalize’ Bremerton

B0012880399--834114As we reported in our Friday paper, tenants of the Admiral Manor apartments in Bremerton are being evicted by a new ownership group, which plans to renovate the complex.

The property was bought at the end of January by Project S12 LLC., an affiliate of The Stratford Company in Seattle.

Nobody at Stratford responded to my requests for comment before our print deadline Thursday, but I did receive an email from CEO George Webb on Friday.

This was Webb’s statement on changes at Admiral Manor:

“We are planning to make significant and necessary improvements to the property. We believe this will be a benefit to the community and are excited to help revitalize this part of the City.”

We’ll continue to follow this story. If you’re an Admiral Manor resident and want to discuss the situation, you can reach me at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or 360-475-3783.

Kitsap apartment rents up 15 percent in 2015

real2_25729917_ver1.0_640_480

Rent for apartments in Kitsap surged 15.4 percent in 2015, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington. 

The average rent per apartment unit in the county was $1,071 in the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of $143 from the same period of 2014.

Apartment vacancies eased slightly to 3.44 percent in the fourth quarter. Vacancies are still much lower than in years past.

The market was tightest in Bremerton, where about 2.64 percent of apartments were vacant. About 4.12 percent were available in the Bainbridge Island/Poulsbo submarket.

Apartment Insights collects its numbers by surveying apartment complexes with 50 or more units.

NOTE: A reader asked me to better define what the term “unit.” In this case it refers to any apartment, regardless of the number of bedrooms. The average per-unit rent is simply the average rent for all apartments in the area. 

Here’s a graphical look at apartment trends in the county:

Apartment vacancies still low, rents rising

RushCo_SidneyApt_2606_lightbox

Prospective homebuyers in Kitsap County have fewer options this fall, as the number of available houses continues to plunge.

Apartment hunters face a similar challenge.

Vacancy rates at Kitsap’s large apartment complexes remained very low in the third quarter of 2015, with 3.23 percent of units available (see graphic below). Port Orchard was the tightest submarket in the county, reporting a vacancy rate of 3.06 percent, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington. 

606Burwell_9424507_ver1.0_640_480Kitsap’s apartment vacancy rate is lower than rates for King/Snohomish, Pierce and Thurston county markets.

Apartment rents continued to creep up in the third quarter, reaching reaching $1,058 per unit in Kitsap.

Rents increased 14.5 percent in the past year. Apartments in Kitsap remain significantly cheaper than in King/Snohomish but more expensive than in Pierce or Thurston.

As with the real estate market, new construction should eventually help ease the squeeze. Several apartment projects are underway in Bremerton.

Pre-leasing has begun for the 71-unit 606 Apartments on Burwell Street, scheduled to open Dec. 1, according to a Facebook post.

Here’s a graphical look at apartment rental trends in Kitsap:

Average apartment rent tops $1,000 in Kitsap

photoThe average rent for a Kitsap County apartment was more than $1,000 in the second quarter of 2015, as vacancy rates continued to plunge.

Apartment complexes in the county reported and average rent of $1,009 per unit in the months for the second quarter, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington.

Rents were 10 percent higher in the second quarter of 2015 than in the same period of 2014, driven by steep increases in Poulsbo and on Bainbridge Island.

The rate of vacant apartments fell to 3 percent, giving Kitsap one of the lowest vacancy rates in the Puget Sound region.

Here’s a graphical look at apartment rental trends in Kitsap and neighboring counties:

Kitsap apartment rents rising as vacancies drop

We already knew the housing market in Kitsap was experiencing low inventory and high demand. It appears similar trends are playing out in the rental apartment market.

20080309-175536-pic-965545952_5703882_ver1.0_640_480The rate of vacant apartments in Kitsap (3.55 percent) is among the lowest in Puget Sound, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights Washington.

Apartment Insights conducts quarterly surveys of apartment complexes with 50 or more units.

Silverdale was the only market in Kitsap with a vacancy rate above 4 percent.

The average per-unit rent for an apartment in Kitsap was $961 during the first quarter of 2015. Rents  jumped 7 percent over the past year, an increase of $62.

New apartments will hit the Kitsap market soon, including two complexes under construction in Bremerton. 

Here’s a graphical look at apartment trends in Kitsap:

Apartment rents creeping up in Kitsap

178865_3409342_ver1.0_640_480Kitsap apartment hunters found slightly higher prices in the third quarter of 2013.

The average rent for units in large apartment complexes rose by $6 from the second quarter of the year, according to Tom Cain of Apartment Insights. The average rent per unit was $924 a month in the third quarter, or $1.09 per square foot, 1.4 percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile the vacancy rate in Kitsap increased to 4.48 percent, still significantly lower than last year. The lowest vacancy rates were in Silverdale, at about 3.7 percent. Bremerton had the highest at more than 5 percent.

Cain noted the apartment market is strong from the perspective of landlords in Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston counties, with low vacancy rates and rent trending upward. About 1,800 units are under construction in the three county area, but nearly all are being built in Pierce county.

Follow Kitsap Sun business reporter Tad Sooter on Twitter at @tsooter. Contact him at tad.sooter@kitsapsun.com or leave a comment below.