Gelt Venture Partners, LLC (GVP), a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm, announced today that it has acquired Drexler Townhomes, a Class A, 117-unit townhome community located at 2790 N Segundo Drive in Lehi, UT. The asset was purchased off-market directly from the original developer.
Completed in 2023, Drexler sits on 10.87 acres and consists of large two, three, and four-bedroom townhome units averaging roughly 1,705 square feet, each with an attached two-car garage and private driveway.
The City of Lehi anchors Utah’s Silicon Slopes corridor, a market that has drawn a concentration of large employers and sustained in-migration over the past decade. Texas Instruments is mid-construction on an $11 billion semiconductor fabrication facility in the area, the largest private project in Utah’s history. Micron, Adobe, Oracle, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Young Living, doTERRA, Purple, Civica Rx, and Owlet all operate in or around the city.
“Lehi is at the center of one of the nation’s fastest-growing employment and population markets, but new apartment construction has slowed dramatically in recent years,” said Keith Wasserman, Managing Partner of GVP. “At the same time, Texas Instruments is building an $11 billion semiconductor fabrication plant just minutes from Drexler. Combined with the area’s expanding employer base, that growth is driving demand for housing that the limited pipeline of new rental supply may struggle to meet.”
GVP closed Drexler in an environment of tight financing and cautious sentiment, conditions the firm regards as favorable for as a long-term hold.
“Some of the best real estate gets bought when capital is hardest to raise,” said Damian Langere, Managing Partner of GVP. “When financing is tight and sentiment is cautious, sellers become realistic and basis improves. We are focused on buying quality assets at pricing that gives us a margin of safety, ultimately allowing time and discipline to do the work.”
GVP plans to continue a proven value-add strategy for the property. The original developer completed the conversion of 24 unfinished townhome basements into fourth bedrooms. GVP intends to finish 35 additional basement bedroom conversions, ultimately creating added rental income.
“We see a clear opportunity to create value by converting basement space into bedrooms and leasing apartments as they turn over at today’s market rents,” said Josh Satin, Managing Partner at GVP. “We’ve already executed a similar strategy at our Alvera community in nearby American Fork, where we increased occupancy from approximately 85% to 94% in a relatively short period. Drexler is in the same high-demand micro-market, and we believe it offers a comparable opportunity to drive occupancy and enhance performance.”
This marks GVP’s 63rd acquisition since inception and its 33rd active asset. The firm owns and operates a portfolio of more than 5,700 units across Southern California, Utah, Colorado, and the Pacific Northwest. The acquisition deepens a long history in Utah, where GVP has owned and operated more than 1,000 units in the Salt Lake region over the years and today holds a 628-unit Utah portfolio inclusive of Drexler.
GVP intends to own Drexler for the long term, consistent with its history as an owner-operator rather than a trader of assets. The firm’s view is that durable returns in real estate come from a disciplined entry basis, conservative capital structure, and patient ownership through cycles rather than from market timing.
About Gelt Venture Partners
Founded during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008, Gelt has established a formidable reputation in the multifamily industry. With over $1 billion equity raised and deployed from a diverse group of investors, the firm’s innovative syndicated capital-raising approach has resulted in a portfolio valued at more than $2.5 billion. Gelt primarily focuses on apartments and storage facilities in the western U.S., financing assets through single-purpose LLC entities with fixed-rate debt obtained from established agency institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.