Friday, October 16, 2026

Two Downtown San Jose Apartment Towers Sell for $380 Million

Coastal Ridge and Brookfield paid $204 million for a student housing high-rise, while Kennedy Wilson led a venture that acquired a 312-unit tower for $176 million.

By the Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk·Thursday, October 15, 2026·1 min read
Editorial summary of reporting byBisnowOur editorial standards →
The answer · checked against Bisnow

Which two downtown San Jose apartment towers sold for $380 million and who bought them?

Two downtown San Jose apartment high-rises sold for a combined $380 million. A Coastal Ridge Real Estate and Brookfield joint venture acquired The Grad, a 1,039-bed student housing tower, for $204 million, while a three-party venture including Kennedy Wilson and Hulic Co. purchased the 312-unit One South Market tower for $176 million.

Key facts
  • A joint venture between Coastal Ridge Real Estate and Brookfield acquired The Grad, a 1,039-bed student housing tower in downtown San Jose, for $204 million.
  • Kennedy Wilson, Hulic Co., and Fuyo General Lease (USA) Inc. formed a three-party joint venture that purchased One South Market, a 312-unit tower in downtown San Jose, for $176 million.
  • The Grad, a 19-story Class-A high-rise at 88 E. San Carlos St., was completed in 2020 by developers Amcal and Swenson and was fully occupied when the sale closed.
  • ACORE Capital Management refinanced The Grad in November 2024, providing a $150 million loan to Swenson and Amcal, according to The Mercury News.
  • Lakevision Capital sold One South Market after purchasing it for $175 million in 2020, with the per-unit price of $564,000 outstripping the five-year area average of $467,000, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
  • Swenson CEO Case Swenson said the sale of The Grad was promoted after the former owners had trouble refinancing the property amid high interest rates.
Two Downtown San Jose Apartment Towers Sell for $380 Million
Image: editorial illustration · Story sourced from Bisnow

A joint venture between Coastal Ridge Real Estate and Brookfield acquired The Grad, a 1,039-bed student housing tower in downtown San Jose, for $204 million, while a three-party venture including Kennedy Wilson and Hulic Co. purchased One South Market, a 312-unit tower, for $176 million.

The Grad is a 19-story Class-A high-rise at 88 East San Carlos Street, one block from San Jose State University. The 543,000-square-foot L-shaped tower was completed in 2020 by developers Amcal and Swenson and has 260 units across 17 floors. It was fully occupied when the sale closed.

The sale was promoted after the former owners had trouble refinancing the property amid high interest rates. The primary investors lacked the capital necessary to obtain refinancing, Swenson chief executive Case Swenson told the Silicon Valley Business Journal. "If I could hold on to it, I would," Swenson said.

The Grad was refinanced in November 2024 by ACORE Capital Management, which provided a $150 million loan to Swenson and Amcal, The Mercury News reported. Institutional Property Advisors Executive Managing Director of Investments Peter Katz represented the selling group, along with Marcus & Millichap's Tony Solomon.

"The Grad is a modern, Class-A high-rise in the heart of Silicon Valley, a market with deep demand, compressed cap rates and significant barriers to entry," Katz said in a press release.

Kennedy Wilson and Hulic joined with Fuyo General Lease (USA) Inc. to purchase One South Market. The 23-story apartment building was completed in 2015. Lakevision Capital sold the property after purchasing it for $175 million in 2020.

The property's per-unit price of $564,000 outstrips the five-year average in the area of $467,000, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported. "One South Market offers exceptional long-term fundamentals, driven by its prime downtown location, strong employment base and limited new multifamily supply," Kennedy Wilson Multifamily Division President Kurt Zech said in a statement. CBRE's Jon Teel represented the buyers in the transaction.

The Deployment Angle

Family Office Real Estate Daily Desk · our analysis, not the source's

The transactions offer two distinct routes for family office capital in Silicon Valley multifamily. The Grad trade represents a forced sale by overleveraged sponsors who could not refinance despite full occupancy and a prior ACORE rescue loan. That suggests opportunity for joint-venture equity alongside capable operators who can weather the refinancing cycle. A family office positioned as rescue capital could partner with groups like Coastal Ridge or Brookfield on similar distressed student housing or purpose-built rental assets where the business plan is sound but the capital stack is not.

One South Market, by contrast, was a negotiated acquisition by established sponsors at a 21 percent premium to the local five-year average per-unit price. Lakevision Capital acquired the property in 2020 for $175 million and exited five years later at $176 million, implying minimal appreciation but stable cash flow in a high-barrier market. That pricing discipline argues for direct ownership or a programmatic separate account with Kennedy Wilson or similar groups that underwrite to income rather than speculative rent growth.

The divergence in outcomes points to the underwriting priorities. Student housing tied to a single campus carries concentration risk that shows up in refinancing crises even when occupancy holds. Conventional multifamily in supply-constrained downtown nodes commands pricing power but requires patient capital willing to accept single-digit returns in exchange for downside protection. Family offices should favor the latter structure in this cycle and avoid levered plays on niche property types unless they can provide the refinancing liquidity themselves and extract a control premium for doing so.

Questions this story answers

01Who bought The Grad student housing tower in downtown San Jose and for how much?

A joint venture between Coastal Ridge Real Estate and Brookfield acquired The Grad, a 1,039-bed student housing high-rise in downtown San Jose, for $204 million. The 19-story, 543,000-square-foot tower at 88 E. San Carlos St. was completed in 2020 and is one block from San Jose State University.

02Who bought One South Market in San Jose and what did they pay per unit?

A three-party joint venture comprising Kennedy Wilson, Hulic Co., and Fuyo General Lease (USA) Inc. purchased One South Market for $176 million. The per-unit price of $564,000 outstripped the five-year average in the area of $467,000, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

03Why did the owners of The Grad sell the property?

The sale of The Grad was promoted after the former owners had trouble refinancing the property amid high interest rates, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Swenson CEO Case Swenson said the primary investors lacked the capital necessary to obtain refinancing, adding, 'If I could hold on to it, I would.'

04What was the previous sale price of One South Market and who was the seller?

Lakevision Capital sold One South Market and had originally purchased the property for $175 million in 2020. The 23-story apartment building was completed in 2015.

Original reporting
Bisnow
Read the original at Bisnow →
multifamilystudent-housingsilicon-valleyrefinancingdistressed-equity
Peer Network · By Invitation

The Thesis Exchange

Share an investment thesis in confidence. We pair you anonymously with up to two other family offices running adjacent strategies. Reviewed by Gallium's editorial team. No vendor pitch.