Alexan Midtown up for changes after sale

A prominent Sacramento apartment complex on the edge of midtown is in for a name change after it sold late last year for a reported $70 million.

The Alexan Midtown, originally conceived as a residential condominium project, was bought by pension fund adviser AEW Capital Management on behalf of Lucent Technologies from Trammell Crow Residential, the original builder.

Opened in 2010, the project is a 275-unit apartment project with buildings of various heights, the tallest at five stories. Alexan, at 3111 S St., also includes 4,208 square feet of ground-floor retail space, an indoor garage and amenities for dogs; at the time it opened, it was one of the largest residential projects near the city core in decades. Though planning for the project began in 2007, the downturn in housing made the project more feasible as apartments, though eventually returning to the condominium concept is possible.

With an average per-unit square footage of 922, and rents beginning at $1,341 a month for studios and as much as $2,610 a month for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit, the Alexan is 95 percent occupied, according to sources.

But a name change is necessary because the Alexan name didn't come with the sale; timing and other details on the pending change weren't available. The project will remain as market-rate apartments, with the same management company in place.

CBRE Sacramento's multifamily team handled the sale on behalf of both the buyer and the seller. The sale closed Oct. 30.

Ben van der Meer covers real estate, development, local and regional planning, construction, transportation, agriculture and water for the Sacramento Business Journal.