A Japanese real estate investor is jumping into the Atlanta apartment market by way of Los Angeles.

Tokyu Land US Corp., a division of Tokyu Land Corp., one of Japan's largest real estate investors, has partnered with TruAmerica Multifamily with a dual multifamily purchase in Metro Atlanta, including a property in Atlanta's hot Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.

California-based TruAmerica purchased Vinings Corner, a 360-unit circa 1980s apartment community at the border of Vinings and Cumberland, and The Prato at Midtown, a 342-unit complex off Central Park Place, for $127M. In turn, the investors plan to spend millions on upgrades to boost the buildings' appeal, they said in the acquisition announcement. Vinings Corner will be rebranded as the Junction at Vinings.

This is both TruAmerica's and Tokyu Land's first foray into the Metro Atlanta market. TruAmerica has been investing in Florida since 2016, having amassed almost 4,000 units in places like Orlando, Tampa, Fort Meyers and Palm Beach.

“We look at new markets very strategically and cautiously, and the acquisition of Vinings Corner in Smyrna and The Prato at Midtown in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward was the right opportunity to enter the Georgia market and expand our footprint in the Southeast in a very meaningful way,” TruAmerica Senior Managing Director of Acquisitions and co-Chief Investment Officer Matthew Ferrari wrote in the release.

“We’ve been in the market for several months, and the competition for well-located communities with value-add upside has been extremely fierce," Ferrari said.

CBRE Vice Chairman Kevin Geiger and JLL managing directors David Gutting and Derrick Bloom brokered the sales for two unidentified sellers.