KNOXVILLE, TENN. — A joint venture between Core Spaces and Schenk Realty has announced plans for an 800-bed student housing development located near the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville. Located at 1801 Cumberland Ave., the community will rise seven stories and offer 215 units in studio through five-bedroom configurations. Shared amenities will include a rooftop swimming pool, hot tub and sun deck, as well as ground floor retail. Construction on the project is set to begin in spring 2025. In addition to this unnamed project, Core Spaces and Schenk are also currently developing Hub Knoxville, a nearby student housing development that will comprise 1,600 beds.
Development
AUSTIN, TEXAS — A partnership between two developers, New York-based Tishman Speyer and Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos., has topped out ATX Tower, a mixed-use tower located at 321 West St. in downtown Austin. The site is bounded by Sixth and Guadalupe streets near the Republic Square transit center. The 58-story building will house 1,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, more than 100,000 square feet of office space, 369 apartments and 440 parking spaces. Handel Architects and Austin-based Page are designing the project, with INC Architecture & Design handling interior design. Ryan Cos. is also the general contractor. Completion is slated for late 2024. Ryan Cos. announced the project in late 2019 and broke ground in spring 2022.
SAN ANTONIO — Atlanta-based developer Wood Partners has broken ground on Alta Westover Hills, a 312-unit multifamily project on the west side of San Antonio. Alta Westover Hills will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments that will be furnished with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, tile backsplashes, custom cabinets and full-sized washers and dryers. Amenities will include a pool, clubroom, fitness center, business center, conference and entertainment spaces, outdoor kitchen and dining areas and a dog park. Wood Partners is developing the property in partnership with German investment firm EIG EuroInvestor. Completion is slated for summer 2025.
BUDD LAKE, N.J. — New York City-based Quinlan Development Group has completed a 761-unit self-storage facility in the Northern New Jersey community of Budd Lake. The facility spans 95,200 net rentable square feet across four buildings and offers a mix of climate- and non-climate-controlled units. The project also features direct unit lighting and hydraulic elevators throughout. Ware Malcomb designed the project, and Gerard Construction served as the general contractor. ExtraSpace Storage will operate the facility.
Berkadia Arranges $151M in Financing for Sea Breeze Gardens Affordable Housing Community in San Diego
by Amy Works
SAN DIEGO — Berkadia, on behalf of sponsor Lincoln Avenue Communities, has arranged $151 million in financing for Sea Breeze Gardens, an affordable multifamily property in San Diego. The financing includes a $53.5 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity investment and $97.5 million in bonds that were credit enhanced by Freddie Mac. Situated within the Lincoln Park neighborhood of San Diego, Sea Breeze Gardens is a rehabilitation project and once complete will feature 268 units across 36 two-story walk-up residential buildings. The unit mix consists of 100 two-bedroom units and 168 three-bedroom units. Twenty-seven units will be designated for residents earning up to 30 percent area median income (AMI), 27 units at 50 percent AMI and 212 units at 60 percent AMI. Additionally, the property will offer three employee units, and the community will meet the requirements for mobility and sensory access with a total of 27 units for mobility impairment and 11 units for sensory impairment. Tim Leonhard and Chris McGraw of Berkadia secured the financing for the borrower.
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Innovative Housing Opportunities (IHO) and C&C Development have opened Pacific Wind, an affordable housing community in Carlsbad, approximately 30 miles north of San Diego. Located at 3875 Sydney Way, the 89-unit property replaced 22 1950s-era duplexes. Pacific Wind features five two- and three-story garden-style walk-up buildings with two play areas for low-income working families and individuals who make between 30 to 80 percent of area median income. The community is already fully leased to more than 300 residents. The property features a clubhouse with leasing and resident service offices, a multi-purpose room with a kitchen and a learning center. Funding sources for the $56 million project include Bank of America, California Municipal Finance Authority, City of Carlsbad and National Equity Fund, as well as federal tax credits. The project team included Bassenian Lagoni Architects, M Zaki Design, JAG Interiors, C&C Construction Services as general contractor, Candela Engineering as electrical engineer, Gouvis Engineering Consultants Group as structural engineer, SWS Engineering as civil engineer, TAD Engineering as MEP and VBK Consulting as project manager.
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Cracking the Code: Winning Strategies for Affordable Housing in Any Market
Frustrated by high costs and a lending crunch for market-rate multifamily projects, savvy mainstream developers are seeking opportunities to build affordable housing. But what constitutes opportunity in a sector reliant on agency lending, community stakeholders and controlled rents? Definitions of “opportunity” in affordable housing vary widely, and favorable elements often involve additional and unique challenges. Not only must developers identify opportune site conditions, but they must also evaluate prospects to compete for funding, secure municipal approvals and win community support. And they need to complete the project within required timeframes in order for the asset to qualify as a good opportunity. REBusiness asked experts from two firms at the forefront of affordable housing development about what affordable housing “opportunity” looks like — and about the strategies they use to transform promising sites into viable projects. Beacon Communities is an established developer of affordable, market-rate and mixed-income housing, while Bohler’s land development consulting and site design services have helped clients identify and act on commercial real estate opportunities for more than 35 years. “We look at any development opportunity through three lenses,” says LeAnn Hanfield Curtin, vice president of development at Beacon. “Those are the availability of sites, ability to get …
ATLANTA — Immersive technology, media and entertainment company Cosm has announced plans to open an entertainment venue at Centennial Yards, a $5 billion mixed-use development currently underway in downtown Atlanta. Situated within the project’s Sports and Entertainment District, the venue will comprise 70,000 square feet across three levels. Architecture firm Gensler is designing the facility. Dubbed Shared Reality, the venue will feature Cosm’s proprietary technology, including a 12K+ LED dome spanning 87 feet in diameter. Shared Reality will offer immersive live sports viewing through Cosm’s partnerships with entities including ESPN, the NBA, NBC Sports, TNT Sports, FOX Sports and the UFC. Programming at the venue will also include Cirque du Soleil’s “O” production and immersive art experiences by members of the Cosm Studios Creator Program. An opening date was not disclosed. This marks the first addition to the next phase of Centennial Yards, which will encompass roughly 470,000 square feet of entertainment, retail and restaurant space, as well as a flagship hotel. The new phase of development will be positioned on a 7.5-acre site adjacent to the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena and Mercedes-Benz stadium, which is home to the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United sports teams. Upon full build-out, …
TAUNTON, MASS. — Boston-based investment firm Rhino Capital Advisors has broken ground on a 180,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Taunton, located south of Boston near the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border. The site spans 11.2 acres within Myles Standish Industrial Park, and the building will feature a clear height of 36 feet, five loading docks and 270 parking spaces. Rhino Capital is developing the property in partnership with MassDevelopment and the Taunton Development Corp. Construction is expected to be complete next spring.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based developer and property manager Habitat has opened OC Living, the first multifamily building at the $200 million Ogden Commons mixed-use development in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. Located at 1325 S. Washtenaw Ave., OC Living consists of 92 units, 90 percent of which are affordable. The four-story building features a mix of 23 studios, 60 one-bedroom units and nine two-bedroom apartments. Amenities include a rubber-surfaced children’s lot with play structures, bike racks, a walking path, landscaped lawn, 110 parking stalls, a package room, resident lounge, fitness center and social services offices. Developed by Habitat along with Sinai Health System, Alecko Capital and the City of Chicago, Ogden Commons is among the city’s largest opportunity zone projects. Upon full build-out, the development will consist of 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail space along with more than 350 mixed-income housing units. The first phase of Ogden Commons was a 45,000-square-foot commercial building completed in 2021 that is home to Sinai Health System’s One Lawndale Express Care Clinic, a Wintrust Bank branch, La Catedral Café & Restaurant and Momentum Coffee. The second phase is slated for completion by 2026. McHugh Construction and Bowa Construction are the general contractors. Bank of …