HOWELL, N.J. — New Jersey-based investment firm AMS Acquisitions has completed Sylvan Woods at Howell, a 100-unit, age-restricted multifamily project located near the Jersey Shore. The property comprises four buildings on a 14-acre site that house one- and two-bedroom units. Amenities include a pool, great room with community kitchen and bar seating, fitness center, tenant lounge and outdoor dining and lounging space. Rents start at $2,300 for a one-bedroom unit.
MIAMI — Focus and Group Fox have received site plan approval for Brickell Starlite, a 39-story multifamily tower located in Miami’s Brickell financial district. Focus is a development and construction firm, and Group Fox is a property asset management firm, and both companies are headquartered in Chicago. Set for completion in 2028, Brickell Starlite will comprise 517 apartments and 7,500 square feet of retail space. Gensler designed the tower, which is now fully zoned and ready to break ground once the final permitting is completed. Focus has retained Chris Lentz, Chris Moyer, Jeff Altenau, Susan Tjarksen and Marc Royer of Cushman & Wakefield to fully capitalize the development.
KELSO, WASH. — A joint venture between Trammell Crow Co. (TCC) and Diamond Realty Investments has completed the construction of Mid I-5, a speculate industrial facility at 2700 Talley Way in Kelso, approximately 50 miles north of Portland, Ore. Situated on 82 acres, Mid I-5 features a 1.2 million-square-foot speculative industrial and logistics building. The single-story, cross-dock facility features a clear height of 40 feet, 650-foot building depth, 8,000 amps of electrical service, 219 dock doors, 348 trailer parking stalls and 427 auto parking stalls. The project also includes adjacent land that could accommodate 475 additional trailer stalls, a yard area or 225,000 square feet of additional building. The facility is expected to become LEED-certified in 2025. The project team included Sierra Construction as general contractor, Gibbs & Olson as civil engineer and HPA Architecture as architect of record. Cara Nolan of CBRE Portland and Andrew Stark of CBRE Seattle are handling the property’s marketing and leasing.
SAN DIEGO — JLL Capital Markets has arranged $46.5 million in construction financing for Stella Apartments, a multifamily development in San Diego. Aldon Cole, Bryan Clark and Bharat Madan of JLL Capital Markets’ Debt Advisory secured a three-year floating-rate loan through Buchanan Mortgage Holdings, an affiliate of Buchanan Street Partners, for the borrower, Murfey Cos. Located at 3104 El Cajon Blvd. in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, the nine-story, 73,243-square-foot residential property will offer 149 studios, one- and two-bedroom units. Onsite amenities will include a rooftop terrace, community gym, large outdoor amenity space and lobby. Murfey Co., a vertically integrated developer, plans to begin construction this quarter with completion expected in second-quarter 2027.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Wespac Residential, a division of Wespac Construction, is developing an apartment community at the southwest corner of Scottsdale Road and Gold Dust Avenue in Scottsdale. Situated on 4.7 acres, the property will feature 215 one- and two-bedroom units, 10,000 square feet of indoor amenities and 20,746 square feet of outdoor amenity space, including underground parking, a landscaped community space, and pool and spa area, as well as yoga space and a fitness center. Construction is slated to start in early 2027.
AURORA, ILL. — Waterton has provided a $16 million preferred equity investment for the development of the Residences at Eastbank, a 258-unit apartment complex in downtown Aurora. Chicago-based DAC Developments is developing the five-story project with additional support from the City of Aurora. Geneva Capital Group arranged the financing and also provided a $45 million senior loan for the development on behalf of its bank syndication program. Construction began in May and is slated for completion in 2026. The Residences at Eastbank is situated on the eastern edge of the Fox River adjacent to Aurora Transportation Center with Metra service to downtown Chicago. The property will include a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom residences. Amenities will include an outdoor atrium with a resort-style pool, fitness center, outdoor seating and an indoor parking garage.
DEERFIELD, ILL. — Skender has broken ground on Deerfield Supportive Living, a 147-unit supportive living development in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield. Developed by Celadon Partners, the four-story building will offer affordable senior living apartments at 1101 Lake Cook Road. The project will feature dining rooms, space for private dining and events, activity rooms, a library, salon and general store. Slated for completion in mid-2026, the project is pursuing Enterprise Green Communities Building certification, which was developed to align affordable housing investment strategies with environmentally friendly building practices. Deerfield Supportive Living will feature eco-friendly paint, coatings, plumbing fixtures, lighting, heating equipment and appliances. The project team includes Assemble Design Workshop as architect and SAS Architects & Planners as interior designer.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based developers Range Group and HSA Commercial have acquired two adjacent parcels totaling 2.3 acres within the Kinzie Planned Manufacturing District on Chicago’s Near West Side. The firms plan to develop a pair of 35,000-square-foot small-bay warehouses on the sites, located at 2519 W. Fulton Ave. and 2520 W. Lake St. Developed on a speculative basis, the warehouses will be able to accommodate multiple tenants or a single user and will offer a clear height of 28 feet, individual drive-in doors, drive-in docks capable of accommodating 40-foot trucks and secured auto parking. Demolition of existing structures on the parcels is expected to begin this spring, with construction of the new buildings being completed by early next year. Chicago-based ARCO/Murray is the design-build general contractor. Larry Goldwasser and Matt Cowie of CBRE are the leasing agents.
As the student housing sector readies for a new generation of students to enter campuses — Generation Alpha — a few of the ‘tried and true’ amenity spaces that were hot with millennials or Gen Z have fallen by the wayside. Golf simulators, movie theaters and bohemian styling with baskets and lots of greenery are just a few of the once popular design choices that are now on the outs, according to Lucy Harrison, brand marketing manager with SouthPark Interiors. Gone, too, are the days of designing one ‘Instagramable’ moment for your building and calling it a day, says Chelsea Kloss, executive vice president of design and curation with LV Collective. “Students want to live in a building that is beautiful and inspiring from all angles — not just with one space built for ‘the gram,’” she says. “They want not only to capture more organic content to share, but to experience it real-time. As designers, that challenges us to push the envelope on experiential design and the importance of finishing all aspects of a built environment.” Students’ desires for their fitness and wellness spaces have also seen a shift over the past few years, according to Kloss. “Designing …
MURFREESBORO, TENN. — Crescent Communities has broken ground on RENDER Manchester Farm, a 309-unit apartment community located on a 35-acre farm in the Middle Tennessee city of Murfreesboro. The Charlotte-based developer expects to open first units in summer 2026. Situated 30 miles south of Nashville, RENDER Manchester Farm will feature a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as rural-centric amenities including a functioning farm, garden, fully stocked toolshed and a clubhouse with a front porch and swings. Other amenities will include a pool area with a smoker, fire pit and picnic tables, as well as a dog park and a fitness center with a yoga studio. The design-build team includes Crescent Communities Construction, Dwell Design Studio, Edge and Huddleston-Steele Engineering. Capital partners include ParkProperty Capital, BOK Financial and Cadence Bank.
