By Taylor Williams AUSTIN, TEXAS — For more than a decade coming out of the Great Financial Crisis, the Austin growth story sold itself to the multifamily investment community, and at the height of the market, faith in that narrative alone might have been enough to sway an investment committee to tour, underwrite, offer and close. The past several years have seen a major departure from that modus operandi, as Austin has perhaps borne an outsized share of pain and erosion of fundamentals amid the larger U.S. apartment boom. Back are the days of basis resets, granular scrutinization of line items, skepticism of below-market exit cap rates and highly bifurcated submarket performances. It’s an inverted version of the multifamily utopia that prevailed throughout the state capital in times of historically low interest rates, and to confidently buy in Austin today requires conviction that the current state of affairs is only temporary. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. So spoke a handful of multifamily investment sales professionals at the annual InterFace Austin Multifamily conference, which took place …
Multifamily
ORLANDO, FLA. AND KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Subtext has completed two student housing developments in Florida and Tennessee. Projects include VERVE Orlando, a 626-bed community located at 3133 N. Alafaya Trail near the University of Central Florida campus in Orlando; and EVER Knoxville, a 498-bed property located at 1919 Lake Ave. near the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville. VERVE Orlando spans 446,078 square feet and offers 200 units in studio through five-bedroom configurations. Shared amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, dedicated yoga room and wellness suite with sauna and meditation rooms; a courtyard pool; outdoor green space with fire pits and grilling stations; a karaoke lounge; golf simulator; speakeasy with arcade games; study lounge with private and group study pods, an outdoor study breezeway and a podcast and content creation room; lobby coffee bar; and a pet spa. VERVE Orlando was developed in partnership with FrontRange Capital Partners and Nuveen Real Estate. Financing was provided by Simmons Bank. Additional members of the development team included Dwell Design Studio, ESG Architecture & Design, Kimley-Horn and Associates and Live Oak Contracting. The 14-story EVER Knoxville development spans 329,294 square feet and offers 136 units in one- through-five-bedroom configurations. Shared amenities include a …
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — JLL has arranged a $53 million refinancing loan for Bobo Development Group’s Arcadia Huntsville. The 250-unit property at 4810 Bradford Drive in Huntsville’s Cumming Research Park was completed in 2024. Newport Beach, Calif.-based Revitate is a limited partner in the project. Arcadia features studios, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, 18,000 square feet of retail and such amenities as a heated saltwater pool, clubhouse with demonstration kitchen, fitness center, coworking space, dog park, electric vehicle charging stations and outdoor grilling stations and lounge areas with gas fire pits. Gregg Shapiro, Anthony Sansone, Kelsey Bawcombe, Connor McCarthy and Jada Cooper headed up JLL’s team for the refinancing.
SALEM, MASS. — Related Cos. is underway on the $38 million renovation of Loring Towers, a 250-unit affordable housing community located north of Boston in Salem that was built in 1974. Interior upgrades will cover floors, kitchen appliances and countertops and bathroom tubs, sinks and vanities. Related will also upgrade the lobby, community room and management office, repave the parking lot and add a carport structure. Lastly, ownership will replace the building’s roof and plumbing systems, enhance the security and HVAC systems, update the windows and elevators and install a basketball court and a new children’s playground. The renovations, which are expected to be complete in 2028, serve to preserve the property’s affordability status through 2056.
LAWRENCE, MASS. — Northmarq has provided a $22.8 million Fannie Mae acquisition loan for Elora Flats & Townhomes, a 104-unit affordable housing complex in Lawrence, a northern suburb of Boston. Built in 2009, Elora Flats & Townhomes comprises six four-story buildings with 48 one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom residences and 33 three-bedroom apartments. All units are reserved for households earning 80 percent or less of the area median income. Kevin Sykes, Ed Riekstins and Jeffrey Munoz of Northmarq originated the loan through Fannie Mae’s Delegated Underwriting Service (DUS) program on behalf of the borrower, Arrowpoint Properties.
SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. — Jonathan Rose Cos. has purchased La Posada Apartments, a 150-unit mixed-income multifamily property located at 609 Frederick St. in Santa Cruz, with plans to extend the existing Project Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract that provides federal support for 122 of the units. The original developers sold the property for $85 million. The contract was set to expire in 2028, but the acquisition will extend the federal support for an additional 20 years. The buyer will also implement an additional regulatory agreement with the California Municipal Finance Authority, further restricting 40 percent of units at 80 percent of the area median income for 55 years. Originally built in 1980, La Posada Apartments features a pool, community garden, library, community room with kitchenette, fitness center and a dining room, as well as an onsite independent elementary school. Additionally, the property provides onsite meals and other services focused on resident care. The new ownership plans to renovate the property, including upgrades to building systems and unit interiors, improvements to the community spaces, the addition of a dedicated fitness space and energy efficiency enhancements. The firm will also introduce a resident services plan, executed with the continued …
SAN FRANCISCO — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a portfolio of two multifamily properties at 1159-1169 and 1067-1071 Union St. in San Francisco’s Russian Hill neighborhood. The properties sold for a combined $6.3 million after approximately 50 years under the same family ownership. Philip Batlin, Clinton Textor, Sam Runco and Jordan Tong, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s San Francisco office, represented seller in the transaction and procured the buyer, local firm Ballast. Built in 1925, the 9,123-square-foot property at 1159-1169 Union St. consists of six two-bedroom, one-bath units on a 0.12-acre parcel. The property features two flats per floor across three residential levels, six garage spaces and rear access from Warner Place. Built in 1908, the 6,075-square-foot property at 1067-1071 Union St. consists of five two-bedroom, one-bath units and is situated on a 0.07-acre parcel. The property includes two buildings on a single lot with frontage on Union Street and Macondray Lane.
By Beth Mattson-Teig Healthcare REITs are well-capitalized, and they’re putting that significant financial muscle to work with big moves to expand their seniors housing portfolios. As the world’s largest healthcare REIT with a market capitalization of nearly $170 billion, Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL) continues to dominate the investment market. Year-to-date through mid-August, Toledo, Ohio-based Welltower had a staggering $15.5 billion in new investments that it had closed or under contract, and another $6 billion in deals in the pipeline. A major focus for the REIT has been expanding its Seniors Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP) platform. SHOP allows REITs to share in the operational upside of properties compared to the fixed rents with traditional triple-net lease structures (see sidebar). Across the industry, there is no shortage of mega-deals. American Healthcare REIT Inc. (NYSE: AHR), based in Irvine, California, recently announced plans to acquire eight seniors housing properties managed by Kensington Senior Living for $873 million. Earlier this year, Chicago-based Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) announced a $540 million deal to acquire a majority stake in an 11-community luxury senior living platform owned by the Wolff Co. It’s no secret that REITs have been active buyers for the past several years. “This external …
BRYAN, TEXAS — Regional brokerage firm MMG Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of The Element at University Park, a 192-unit apartment complex in the Central Texas city of Bryan. Built in 2000, the property offers one- and two-bedroom units and an array of sports courts — basketball, volleyball, pickleball — in addition to a business center. Houston-based Lumen Capital sold the property to Hayden Properties for an undisclosed price. Harris Weber, Michael Moffitt, Michael Watson, Michael Miller and Thomas Skevington of MMG brokered the deal.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — April Housing, Blackstone Real Estate’s affordable housing division, is underway on the $21.5 million renovation of Mayfield Park, a 11-building, 240-unit complex in Arlington that was built in 2000. The renovation is part of a resyndication that will preserve the property’s affordability status for another 30 years. Upgrades will include new flooring and appliances, new water heaters and HVAC systems, fresh painting and lighting, accessibility improvements and enhancements to amenity spaces. Benton Design Group is the project architect, and ICON Builders is the general contractor.