Californians take over NW apartments for $12.4M

A California limited partnership has purchased a 70-unit apartment building in Portland’s Alphabet District for nearly $5 million more than the property sold for just two years ago.

Westover Tower LP of San Mateo, Calif., recently paid $12.4 million for the Westover Tower Apartments at 930 N.W. 25th Place. The seller was Langley/Westover Tower LLC of Portland, who bought the building at the end of 2012 for $7.5 million.

Berkadia partner Phil Oester and vice president Joe Nydahl negotiated the sale.…

Red Robin opens smaller burger restaurant in D.C.

Colorado-based burger chain Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. has planted its second prototype Burger Works location in the District near Washington Circle.

Red Robin Burger Works opened Monday at 1028 19th St. NW, its second Burger Works location in the District. The other is at 429 L’Enfant Plaza, SW.

While Red Robin has more than a dozen traditional restaurant locations in the Washington suburbs, the two Burger Works locations are among only a handful nationwide. There are others in Colorado…

Existing home sales rise modestly in February

Housing sales remain sluggish, but prices continue to rise.

The National Association of Realtors says existing home sales in February rose 1.2 percent from January’s pace. Total existing home sales were up 4.7 percent from a year ago, but median selling prices last month were up 7.5 percent from February 2014.

It was the 36th consecutive month of year-over-year price gains and the largest since last February.

Insufficient supply appears to be hampering prospective buyers in several areas of…

$68M historic Gastonia textile mill renovation now seeks commercial tenants to add to apartments (PHOTOS)

Charlotte may not be the only market that’s eager for apartment development.

Loray Mill Village, with 190 apartments in a 113-year-old redeveloped mill in Gastonia, is about 25 percent leased, two months after its first tenants moved in.

“It just happens that people love to live in these buildings,” says Billy Hughes, general partner in Loray Mill Redevelopment.

On Thursday, N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory and other dignitaries are scheduled to attend a dedication of the facility.

So far the 190…

LendingHome raises $70M for online real estate investment platform

LendingHome disclosed on Friday that it raised $70 million in new funding for its online platform which allows individuals and institutions to invest in real estate transactions.

The funding was disclosed in an SEC filing that listed Renren CEO Joseph Chen as a new director.

When the company raised a $28 million Series B round last August led by Foundation Capital. That firm’s Charles Moldow was named a partner at that time, along with Ribbit Capital’s Meyer Malka.

The company has raised $103…