Riverside Workforce Housing Portfolio Sells for $21.8 Million at $193,000 Per Unit
Riverside, California | September 25, 2026: Two adjacent workforce housing properties in Riverside have sold for a combined $21.8 million, or approximately $193,000 per apartment, in a transaction involving 113 rental units.
Located within an Opportunity Zone, the two multifamily communities provide a mix of two- and three-story walk-up apartments and were sold together by their common owner. The transaction highlights continued investor activity in Riverside's workforce housing segment despite a challenging operating and regulatory environment across Southern California.
Two Riverside Communities Trade in One Deal
The transaction brought together two established multifamily properties:
- University Gardens: 25 units at 1480 Seventh Street
- Normandy Apartments: 88 units at 3681-3725 Cranford Avenue
- Total: 113 apartments
- Combined sale price: $21.8 million
- Price per unit: Approximately $193,000
Both communities are gated, garden-style properties and feature swimming pools.
Normandy Apartments Accounts for 88 Units
The larger asset, Normandy Apartments, consists of 88 units across two side-by-side buildings.
The two buildings each contain 44 apartments and are located along Cranford Avenue.
The property adds scale to the portfolio while maintaining the characteristics of a traditional workforce housing community, with walk-up apartment buildings rather than a high-rise configuration.
University Gardens Adds 25 More Homes
University Gardens at 1480 Seventh Street contributes another 25 rental units to the transaction.
Together, the two properties give the buyer exposure to 113 apartments under a single acquisition, while their adjacent location and common ownership allowed them to be marketed and sold as one portfolio.
Both properties also have swimming pools, adding shared amenities to the workforce housing communities.
Opportunity Zone Adds Another Investment Angle
The properties are located within an Opportunity Zone, giving the transaction an additional investment characteristic beyond the underlying multifamily real estate.
For investors, Opportunity Zone status can be relevant when evaluating potential tax and investment structures, although the actual benefits depend on the investor's circumstances and applicable tax rules.
The location also places the assets within Riverside's broader Inland Empire multifamily market, where workforce housing remains an important part of the rental supply.
Why the $193,000 Per-Unit Price Matters
The transaction works out to approximately $193,000 per apartment, providing a simple measure of the portfolio's acquisition cost.
However, the per-unit figure should not be treated as a standalone valuation benchmark for all Riverside apartments. Factors such as rents, occupancy, property condition, operating expenses, amenities, location and future capital requirements can significantly affect multifamily valuations.
For buyers evaluating similar workforce housing assets, the operating history and condition of the individual buildings can be as important as the headline sale price.
Seller Moves to Redeploy Capital
Kidder Mathews Senior Vice President Jon Mitchell represented the seller and generated multiple offers through a competitive marketing process.
According to Kidder Mathews, the seller decided to dispose of the properties as part of a broader strategy to redeploy capital amid what it described as an increasingly challenging business and regulatory environment in Southern California.
The competitive marketing process indicates that multiple buyers showed interest in the portfolio despite those broader market pressures.
What Happens Next for Riverside Multifamily
The transaction adds to recent investor activity around workforce housing in the Inland Empire.
For the new ownership, the focus will likely remain on operating the two established communities and managing the rental housing portfolio within Riverside's regulatory and operating environment.
For the broader market, the sale provides another data point for multifamily investors assessing the value of workforce housing properties with established operations, shared amenities and locations within the Inland Empire.