Orange Firm Now Managing 34,861 Units

While Hurwitz and other owners of individual apartment buildings serve a niche market, the apartment industry as a whole is consolidating.

That has helped Orange County’s biggest apartment manager, Jupiter Western National in Orange, to grow even more.

The company is now the 14th-largest apartment manager in the nation with 34,861 units under management, according to a recent survey by National Multi-Housing Council, a Washington trade group. Last year, it was ranked 27th for managing 27,186 units.

The company has prospered since bailing out of a planned merger with Santa Margarita Co., a large Orange County developer, last year. “Apartments during the last several years have been one of the premier performers in the real estate industry,” said Jonathan L. Kempner, the trade group’s president. “As the data . . . demonstrates, apartment owners and managers continue to experience healthy vitality.”

Debora Vrana covers real estate for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5979 and at debora.vrana@latimes.com.