CALGARY, ALBERTA AND SAN DIEGO — Brookfield Residential Properties Inc., the residential development arm of private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management, has closed on its acquisition of OliverMcMillan, a San Diego-based developer of large-scale mixed-use properties.
Details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but on a conference call Wednesday (Feb. 7), Brookfield Residential chairman and CEO Alan Norris stated that the acquisition encompasses “certain assets” of OliverMcMillan.
According to a release from Brookfield Residential, OliverMcMillan will continue to design and build mixed-use developments and will also continue to manage its existing real estate assets.
“We simply could not have found a better long-term home,” says Dene Oliver, CEO of OliverMcMillan, in a prepared statement about the merger with Brookfield Residential.
OliverMcMillan has several mixed-use projects under development across the country, including the second phases of River Oaks District in Houston and Buckhead Atlanta in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. As part of the merger, Brookfield Residential is acquiring the future pipeline of these two projects but not the operations of the existing assets, according to a source familiar with the acquisition.
The second phase of Buckhead Atlanta includes 315,000 square feet of office space, according to the OliverMcMillan website. The project’s first phase includes the corporate headquarters for Spanx, a shapewear apparel provider founded by Sara Blakely.
River Oaks District’s second phase will span 455,000 square feet and include 190,000 square feet of office space, a 150,000-square-foot hotel, 90,000 square feet of residential space and 25,000 square feet of retail space, according to the developer’s website.
Additionally, Brookfield Residential is acquiring Fifth + Broadway, a $430 million mixed-use development underway in downtown Nashville. The project will feature a 100,000-square-foot food hall, the National Museum of African American Music, a hotel conference center, an H&M store, 380 units of high-rise residential, more than 2,000 parking spaces, 385,000 square feet of office space at 501 Commerce and a 16,000-square-foot rooftop event deck. The project is slated to come on line in 2020.
“The acquisition of OliverMcMillan provides us with the investment in some incredible mixed-use development opportunities and the skillsets to supplement our existing talented group at Brookfield Residential,” says Adrian Foley, president and chief operating officer of Brookfield Residential, in a prepared statement. Foley also mentioned the company was interested in future redevelopment opportunities as a result of the acquisition.
Also included in the acquisition is a newly announced high-rise in Waikiki on 2.5 acres of land owned by the Queen Emma Land Co. The 27-story project will feature 500 market-rate and affordable units, as well as seven commercial tenants, according to OliverMcMillan’s current plans. Dubbed OM Kuhio, the project is slated for a 2021 opening.
Since its founding in 1978, OliverMcMillan has designed and developed more than 8 million square feet of space with a total project value exceeding $5 billion.
Based in Calgary, Brookfield Residential entitles and develops land for master-planned communities, builds and sells lots to third-party builders and operates its own homebuilding business. Brookfield Asset Management is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $265 billion of assets under management.
— John Nelson