Dive Brief:

• Solana Beach, California-based apartment owner HP Investors has separated from its Northern California affiliate HP Investors North, according to a release shared with Multifamily Dive.
• Isaac Abid, who has partnered with HPI since 2014, will serve as general partner of the Northern California portfolio under his new venture, Lakeside Group, an Oakland-based real estate investment and management firm.
• In the release, HPI co-founder Sumeet Parekh said that the reorganization “created an opportunity for both of us to part ways amicably and for each of us to pursue our own respective interests.” 

Dive Insight:

Sumeet and Harki Parekh founded HPI in 2010 to focus on the acquisition, asset management and property management of value-add properties in Southern California. The firm owns approximately $1 billion in retail, office, mixed-use, multifamily and hospitality assets throughout Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

In 2014, HPI entered into a joint venture with Abid to form HP Investors North, a completely separate, wholly owned entity to pursue similar opportunities in the Bay Area. He built a portfolio of approximately 500,000 square feet of mixed-use, retail, industrial and commercial office space.

HPI will divest its interests in the Northern California portfolio over time, focusing the firm on Southern California markets.  

“Isaac has done a great job helping grow HP Investors over the years and remains committed in his investment thesis in Oakland,” said Sumeet Parekh in a press release. 

While Northern California may have suffered more than any area in the country after the 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns caused workers to leave the city for more affordable areas, there are signs of an improving market.

“In San Francisco, demand feels good right now, and we are seeing some of the best weeks in terms of traffic and application volume,” said Michael Manelis, chief operating officer at Chicago-based Equity Residential, on the REIT’s second-quarter earnings call last month. “We continue to see really positive signs in the downtown submarket. In regards to the quality-of-life issues, property crime is down and the city’s nightlife scene is thriving.”

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