Built by Granville in 2015, the Brio on Broadway has changed hands once again. A Northern California private investor sold the 54-unit property for $10 million. Photo via Northmarq

Northmarq’s Fresno multifamily sales team led by the father-son duo of Robin and Brendan Kane completed the $10.07 million sale of the Brio on Broadway apartments in Downtown Fresno. The buyer was a family office based in the East Bay.

Brio on Broadway is a 54-unit multifamily community located at Broadway and San Joaquin streets in downtown’s Mural District. It features one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with an average size of 785 square feet.

The community, built in 2015 by Granville, is also close to several freeways and potential employers. It was listed by the seller, a Northern California private investor, with year-over-year rent growth of more than 35% and a 6.83% capitalization rate, representing the return on a property’s value in a one-year period.

“The property boasts a high walkability score and is within a 5-minute drive to the 41, 99 and 180 Freeway connecting Fresno to Visalia, Bakersfield and the Bay Area,” stated a news release announcing the sale. “Residents enjoy close proximity to public transit and the future location of the Fresno Station High-Speed Rail, as well as Fresno’s third-largest employer, Community Regional Medical Center.”

Outside of the location, Robin said that the relatively new, modern design also made Brio on Broadway appealing. 

The transaction, which was completed in less than a month, was an all-cash deal driven by the buyer’s need to close before year-end.

“The buyer had been interested in The Brio for months but found compelling financial reasons to finalize the deal in 2024,” Robin said in the news release. 

In the long term, Robin believes that the eventual completion of the California high-speed rail system — which broke ground in 2015 — will attract potential buyers to the area. However, in the short term, the appeal has run its course. 

“When it was announced, it really did have a good impact on investors’ interest in the downtown,” Robin said. “But that’s already been baked into all the deals as well.”