Marina del Rey Rentals Acquired for $87 Million

Denver real estate investment trust Archstone-Smith has completed its purchase of the former Kingswood Village Marina apartments in Marina del Rey for $87 million.

The REIT bought the 623-unit complex on Via Marina from a partnership that included the estate of the late actor Charles Bronson, who invested in the property during the peak of his movie career, said John Whitmire of Bel-Air Capital, who represented the buyer and seller in the transaction.

The complex, built in 1975, is being renamed Archstone Marina del Rey. It consists of seven three-story, garden-style buildings and one 13-story tower. The tower that overlooks the harbor is the only high-rise rental property in Marina del Rey, said Dusty Crane of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

Archstone-Smith plans renovations and improvements that would bring the total cost to more than $110 million, Whitmire said. The upgrades were approved by the Small Craft Harbor Commission as part of negotiating an extension of the underlying ground lease with Los Angeles County.

Almost 16% of Archstone-Smith’s apartments are in Southern California, about 9,500 units, said Chairman R. Scot Sellers. “Los Angeles is a significant component of our long-term strategy of owning apartments in highly desirable neighborhoods with expensive, single-family homes and limited land upon which to build new housing,” he said.

Shares of Archstone-Smith closed up 44 cents at $29.57 on the New York Stock Exchange.