BOSTON — MassDevelopment has provided a $36 million tax-exempt bond to fund a project at The Park School in the Brookline area. The project will entail a renovation of an existing building to create space for an art and science wing, the construction of an outdoor turf athletic field and a ropes course and the addition of a new elevator in the main building. Additionally, the school will use bond proceeds to make roof repairs, replace skylights in various facilities and install a new sprinkler system. Construction is underway and expected to be complete in January 2024. Eastern Bank purchased the bond, which will also be used to refinance previously issued debt. Founded in 1888, The Park School is a nonprofit institution with an enrollment of 560 students in grades pre-K through 8.
BRUNSWICK, MAINE — Private equity real estate firm Jones Street Investment Partners has received a $36 million construction loan for a 181-unit multifamily project in Brunswick, located in the southern coastal part of Maine. The site is located in a Qualified Opportunity Zone within Brunswick Landing, which is a commercial and industrial redevelopment of a former naval base. Bangor Savings Bank provided the loan. Completion is slated for late 2024.
JERSEY CITY — The Community Builders (TCB), an affordable housing owner-operator with five offices across the country, has completed Bergenview Apartments, a project IN Jersey City that converted a historic YMCA building into a 111-unit apartment complex for formerly homeless individuals. All units are studios, and residents have access to a gym, game room, demonstration kitchen and a learning center. Kramer+Marks Architects designed the redevelopment, and Pike Construction Co. LLC served as the general contractor. The New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency provided Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity for the project.
CHICAGO — Structured Development and Evergreen Real Estate Group have opened Schiller Place Apartments on Chicago’s Near North Side. The mixed-income apartment complex consists of 48 units across three buildings. Located immediately south of Structured’s NEWCITY development on land that was formerly home to the Isham YMCA, Schiller Place is fully leased. There are six market-rate units, 24 reserved for Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) residents, 13 set aside for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) and five reserved for those who earn up to 30 percent of AMI. Five of the units have been earmarked for veterans and five will house individuals sourced through the Statewide Referral Network, which works with households earning up to 30 percent of AMI with a head of household who has a disability or illness. The project team included GMA Construction and architecture firm Bailey Edward. Funding for Schiller Place included federal 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits awarded by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and syndicated by Hudson Housing Capital. IHDA also awarded Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits that were syndicated by Clocktower Tax Credits and sponsored by Housing and Human Development Corp., which will provide onsite …
DECATUR, ALA. — First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) has announced plans to develop a $1.1 billion solar module manufacturing facility within Mallard Fox Industrial Park in Decatur, located near the Tennessee River southwest of Huntsville. The factory will contribute 3.5 gigawatts (GWDC) of renewable power each year and create over 700 new jobs for the state of Alabama upon its completion in 2025, according to the developer. First Solar hopes to expand its American manufacturing footprint to over 10 GWDC and a total investment of $4 billion in the coming years. The company currently has two factories operating in the state of Ohio with a third scheduled for completion during the first half of 2023, and several research and development (R&D) centers in California and Ohio. First Solar recently said it would expand its operations in the United States following passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides tax credits for domestically produced clean energy equipment. “The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has firmly placed America on the path to a sustainable energy future,” says Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar. “Our Alabama facility, along with its sister factories in Ohio, will form part of the …
CLEVELAND — The NRP Group has opened 5115 at The Rising, an affordable housing community in Cleveland’s Broadway-Slavic Village. The project consists of 78 apartment units and 10 townhome units, all of which are affordable residences that will be reserved for low- to moderate-income renters. Supported by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s Housing Tax Credit program, the community currently has a waitlist of potential residents and has received more than 2,200 inquiries. Additional funding came from KeyBank, Ohio Capital Corp. for Housing, City of Cleveland and Third Federal Foundation. University Settlement, which provides community, family, youth and senior programs, is relocating its offices to the building, occupying 20,000 square feet on the first floor. Another 5,000 square feet of commercial space will serve as a food pantry and a Cuyahoga Community College Access Center.
GODFREY, ILL. — IMPACT Strategies has begun construction of the new BJC Outpatient Center in Godfrey, about 30 miles north of St. Louis. The 20,000-square-foot outpatient clinic marks IMPACT’s eighth project for BJC HealthCare. St. Louis-based SCOUT Capital Group is the developer and Archimages Architects is the project architect. Midwest BankCentre provided funding. Completion is slated for summer 2023.
SAVANNAH, GA. — SJP Properties and Manulife Investment Management have begun construction on the first phase of Georgia International Commerce Centre (GICC), an 809-acre industrial park in Savannah. At full buildout, GICC will comprise 12 buildings spanning 6.5 million square feet. SJP is partnering with Manulife on the first facility and with Chesterfield and Atalaya Capital Management on the overall development. Plans for GICC call for 250,000- to 1.3 million-square-foot buildings, each with cross-dock, front-load or rear-load configurations. The first building, which will span 1 million square feet, will feature 40-foot clear heights, 228 dock doors, four drive-in ramps, 273 trailer parking spots, a 185-foot-deep truck court and car parking for roughly 190 employees. The building is set to be delivered in July 2023 and is available for lease. Stephen Ezelle of Gilbert & Ezelle Inc., a regional non-owned affiliate of Cushman & Wakefield, is serving as the exclusive leasing agent for GICC. The park is situated within three miles of I-16, 22 miles from the Port of Savannah and near the recently announced, 16 million-square-foot Hyundai manufacturing facility.
ATLANTA — Chicago-based Sterling Bay and Charlotte-based Asana Partners have broken ground on 1050 Brickworks, a 14-story office building located at West Marietta Street and Brady Avenue in Atlanta’s West Midtown district. The co-developers are building the 225,000-square-foot property on a speculative basis. The duo recently secured an undisclosed amount of construction financing from Bank OZK. The design-build team includes architect HKS and general contractor Gilbane. The local Stream Realty Partners team of Bryan Heller, Peter McGuone and Parker Welton are leasing the property on behalf of Sterling Bay and Asana. 1050 Brickworks will feature a fitness center, private tenant balconies, open-air conference spaces and lounges and 14,000 square feet of retail space. The property will also feature creative office space with floor plates averaging 33,000 square feet. Upon completion, which is set for early 2024, 1050 Brickworks will anchor Asana’s adjacent Brickworks campus that currently features 166,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.
HIALEAH, FLA. — The Estate Cos. has completed the conversion of a former Ramada Inn hotel located at 1950 W. 49th St. in Hialeah, a suburb of Miami. The redevelopment, known as Alture Westland, is a four-story garden-style community housing 251 apartments and 5,522 square feet of retail space. The Estate Cos. acquired the shuttered hotel and the five-acre site for $15.3 million in August 2020 and broke ground on the adaptive reuse project in April 2021. Alture Westland, which represents Estate’s first Alture-branded property, features studios and one-bedroom apartments, as well as a pool with a sundeck, fitness center and a clubhouse. The community is currently 85 percent leased, with rental rates starting at $1,636, according to the property website. Additionally, Panera plans to open a new 2,036-square-foot outparcel restaurant on the site with a drive-thru fronting West 49th Street.