National apartment investor and manager Bell Partners, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, is continuing its expansion on the West Coast, with the acquisition of Aura Totem Lake, a 202-unit apartment community in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland. This acquisition marks the firm’s fourth owned community in the Seattle metro area. It also owns and/or manages more than 1,800 apartment units across 10 properties in West Coast markets, including Seattle, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles.
The community will be renamed Bell Totem Lake. Built in 2020, it provides residents with convenient access to employment centers anchored by Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, and Google as well as restaurants, shopping, entertainment, and outdoor recreational activities.
Bell Totem Lake units include wood-like flooring, designer lighting, flat panel kitchen cabinets with tile backsplashes and under-cabinet lighting, quartz countertops with under-mount sinks, energy-efficient appliances, and gas ranges with smart features. Community amenities feature three elevated courtyards with a covered outdoor entertaining kitchen, fire pits, hammocks, and grills; a resident lounge with a demonstration kitchen and billiards table; a fitness center with a cardio theater and free weights; two private business suites and workstations; a pet spa; bike storage; 24/7 parcel lockers; and a parking garage with electric car-charging stations.
“The Greater Seattle area consistently ranks among the fastest growing economies in the country. Kirkland, in particular, has become one of the most desirable places to live and work in recent years—a trend we expect to accelerate in the near future,” said Nickolay Bochilo, executive vice president of investments at Bell Partners. “Rapid expansion by major technology firms on the east side of Seattle has solidified the region’s reputation as a burgeoning tech hub. The strong labor market has attracted a skilled workforce and a large millennial population. Bell Totem Lake is well-positioned to experience stable and growing demand from current and future residents.”
This is the firm’s first acquisition made on behalf of the Bell Core Fund I vehicle, an $800 million core multifamily venture with long-standing institutional partners that, with leverage, intends to buy over $1.5 billion of assets. According to Bell Partners, the venture will acquire well-located, lower-risk, high-quality multifamily properties in favorable submarkets that can generate consistent cash flow with strong appreciation over a long-term investment horizon.
"We pride ourselves on our relationships and deep commitment to outperforming for our investors," said Lili Dunn, president of Bell Partners. "This venture is a part of Bell Partners' strategic plan to further our product offering for our institutional partners and deepen our presence within our target markets with complementary vehicles."
