A Silicon Valley investment firm with a growing appetite for Denver’s apartment market has scooped up its latest property in the region as it continues to hunt for more properties to further stretch its portfolio.

Pacific Urban Investors, the multifamily management arm of brokerage Marcus & Millichap, paid $117 million for the 420-unit Viridian apartment complex in Greenwood Village, Colorado, an affluent Denver suburb that commands some of the highest rents in the state. The deal with the seller, an asset management affiliate of global financial giant JPMorgan Chase, closed late last month, according to Arapahoe County property records.

At a little more than $278,570 per unit, Pacific was able to score a substantial deal compared to other multifamily deals that have recently closed in and around the Denver Tech Center area. Prices in the neighborhood, which has long been able to generate strong interest among investors, have averaged more than $347,000 per unit among other sales that have closed over the past year, according to CoStar data.

“We fully expect to add to our portfolio in the Denver MSA in the coming years and view Viridian as an excellent addition that fits squarely within Pacific’s investment thesis,” John Fluke, Pacific’s director of investments, said in a statement. “Denver continues to be a market where we are underweight relative to our benchmark, and we are actively seeking additional opportunities in the area.”

The acquisition marks the Palo Alto, California firm’s fourth in the greater Denver area, where it now operates a portfolio that spans roughly 885 multifamily units.

The Denver Tech Center, one of Colorado’s largest employment hubs that straddles several suburbs south of the city, has long been popular among renters, developers and investors. Yet the pandemic accelerated its appeal, providing the neighborhood with a layer of durability that has made it possible to avoid the economic pitfalls plaguing other multifamily markets across the country.

Over the past year, buyers have collectively spent nearly $375 million on multifamily acquisitions in the Denver Tech Center area, holding steady as investment volume elsewhere across the Denver area pulls back in response to the increased cost of capital and mounting economic wariness.

Pacific’s latest purchase has direct access to major regional thoroughfares and upward of 240,000 jobs in the area, making the Denver Tech Center one of Colorado’s largest employment hubs.

The complex at 5335 S. Valentia Way “is a high-quality asset in an employment-centric location,” said Zach Williams, the firm’s vice president of investments. He added that the complex’s desirable location and package of amenities make it an attractive repositioning opportunity, which Pacific intends to take advantage of with plans to roll out “select enhancements to improve the resident experience and yield for our capital partners.”

At more than $2,000 per month, average apartment rents in the area are among some of the highest in the region, according to CoStar data, catering to a demographic of young professionals and executives upon which developers have been eager to capitalize. Rates at the Viridian average far less at about $1,810 per month, a gap Williams said the firm will be able to close following the firm’s renovation plan.