Douglas Wilson Cos. has taken control of Parkmerced, the massive San Francisco apartment complex, with plans to pump $70M into repairs.

A San Francisco Superior Court judge granted lenders Barclays and Citigroup’s request to put San Francisco’s largest apartment complex into a receivership on March 6 after its owner, Maximus Real Estate Partners, defaulted on $1.8B in loans. The 3,221-unit property is 80% leased.

“We have been given authority from the Superior Court and substantial capital from the lender to immediately focus on repairing and replacing health and safety deficiencies, including inoperable elevators, interior and exterior lighting, water intrusion, and mold issues,” Douglas Wilson, chairman and CEO of the eponymous company, said in a statement.

Brick + Timber, an affiliate of the San Francisco-based real estate firm Ballast Investments, will handle leasing and activities and manage the community, which has 8,000 tenants.

Parkmerced is the second-largest rental housing complex in the West, topped only by Park La Brea in Los Angeles. Built in the 1940s for middle-income families, the complex has 11 twelve-story towers and more than 1,400 garden-level apartment units. It is situated in the southwest corner of San Francisco, adjacent to San Francisco State University and the coast.

The city had approved a plan to add 5,800 new apartments 14 years ago, but the effort has since stalled. DWC will work to preserve the entitlements of Parkmerced's redevelopment plan for future developers.

DWC served as receiver for Stanford Court, a four-star hotel in Nob Hill. The firm oversaw the repositioning of China Basin Landing, a 675K SF office complex adjacent to the San Francisco Giants’ Oracle Park.