OMAHA, NEB. — Petros PACE Finance has provided $13.8 million in C-PACE funding for a 160-unit apartment development in Omaha’s Blackstone District. The funding is for environmental and energy-efficiency measures, including interior and exterior LED lighting, roof and wall insulation, a high-efficiency HVAC system and low-flow water fixtures. The property also features 18,000 square feet of retail space. C-PACE, otherwise known as Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, is a tool that can finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements at office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties, among others.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group has arranged the refinancing of Charleston Tech Center, an 88,000-square-foot office building in Charleston. MetLife Investment Management, the institutional asset management arm of MetLife Inc., provided the undisclosed amount of financing. The borrowers, Iron Bridge Capital and Hunt Cos., delivered the six-story building in 2021. The property was 84 percent leased at the time of financing to tenants including Charleston Digital Corridor, a city-backed technology incubator that occupies the full second floor (17,000 square feet); Conrex, a single-family rental platform owned by Brookfield (15,000 square feet); and Insight Global, a tech staffing firm (7,000 square feet). Charleston Tech Center is located in Charleston’s Upper Peninsula adjacent to the city’s historic district and near I-26 and US Highway 17. In addition to modern offices, Charleston Tech Center includes ground-level retail space, rooftop amenity space, conference spaces, bike racks and showers.
JEFFERSONVILLE, IND. — Berkadia has provided a $15.2 million Freddie Mac loan for the acquisition of Beech Grove Apartments in Jeffersonville near Louisville. Built in 1972, the apartment complex features 182 units. Amenities include a fitness center, dog park and pool. John Schorgl of Berkadia Kansas City secured the loan on behalf of the borrower, California-based Revitate Cherry Tree. The 10-year loan features five years of interest-only payments.
FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS — French lending institution Natixis has provided a $50.7 million acquisition loan for The Grayson at Baybrook, a 322-unit apartment community located in the southern Houston suburb of Friendswood. The property features one- and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, resident clubhouse and a sand volleyball court. Tucker Knight and Carl Rasmussen of Berkadia placed the loan on behalf of the borrower, SRJ Real Estate Investments, which will use a portion of the proceeds to fund capital improvements.
By Jason Schwartzberg, President of MD Energy Advisors The real estate development industry has been negatively impacted by a continued series of hardships over the past 24 months, including rapidly escalating construction costs, breakdowns in the supply chain, inflation, labor shortages, rent freezes and, most recently, rising interest rates. Many projects are still managing to receive financing and get underway, but the current environment presents significant challenges for owners and investors to place a project under contract, achieve entitlement, obtain construction financing and then build, deliver and stabilize the development. For a project to move from concept to completion, it must first meet the internal rate of return (IRR) or hurdle rate, also known as the “minimum acceptable rate of return” (MARR). Developers and investors maintain various thresholds for the definition of an acceptable IRR, but the return of the project must ultimately be commensurate with the risk undertaken to complete it. Variables associated with construction and market risks also factor into the equation. There are several methods to increase a project’s return in order to reach a desired hurdle rate, some of which are outside of the developer’s direct control. Major inputs that significantly impact returns include the cost …
KIRKLAND, WASH. — CBRE has arranged $40 million in financing for MorningStar of Kirkland, a 152-unit independent living community in Kirkland, a suburb of Seattle. The community, located on 3.6 acres, opened in February half a mile from the Evergreen Health Medical Center Kirkland, a 318-bed general hospital that provides residents with convenient access to healthcare. Also nearby is Totem Lake East, a regional shopping center that includes a Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, movie theater and a variety of restaurants and retail outlets. The community is the first new, high-quality independent living asset built in the last 13 years in the high-barrier, affluent Kirkland submarket, according to CBRE. The borrower is a joint venture between Artemis Real Estate Partners, MorningStar Senior Living and American Capital Group. The use of the funds was not disclosed. Aron Will, Austin Sacco and Tim Root of CBRE National Senior Housing arranged the financing. The nonrecourse, floating-rate loan features full-term interest-only payments. A national bank provided the funds.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Thorofare Capital has closed a $20 million loan for Raintree & Pima Self Storage Partners, an affiliate of Phoenix-based 1784 Capital Holdings. The funds will be used to complete construction of a Raintree Life Storage location in Scottsdale. The $20 million floating-rate financing carries an initial term of 1.5 years and includes two six-month extension options. Additionally, the loan features interest-only payments for its entire duration and is nonrecourse, subject to customary completion and carry guarantees. Situated on a 2.2-acre site facing Loop 101, the 81,435-square-foot facility features 944 climate-controlled self-storage units. Life Storage will handle the property operations upon the project’s delivery, which is slated for September 2022. Life Storage currently operates 5,887 self-storage units, totaling 618,881 square feet, within a 7.5-mile radius of the Raintree Life Storage. TLW Construction is serving as general contractor on the project, which is approximately 65 percent complete at the time of financing. RKAA Architects is serving as project architect.
Granite Properties Receives Construction Financing for 143,500 SF Office Project in Southlake, Texas
SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS — Granite Properties has received an undisclosed amount of construction financing for Granite Place II at Southlake Town Square, a 143,500-square-foot office project in metro Dallas. Granite Properties is developing the five-story building in partnership with N5B Capital. Amenities will include outdoor work and meeting space, a corporate living room, fitness center and a grab-and-go food service. Trey Morsbach and Jim Curtin of JLL arranged the financing through Bank OZK. DPR Construction is the general contractor for the project. Sitework is underway, and completion is slated for March 2023.
DETROIT, LANSING AND GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Dwight Mortgage Trust, the mortgage REIT affiliate of Dwight Capital, has provided a $154.8 million bridge loan for the acquisition of a multifamily portfolio in Michigan. The properties include Capitol Village Apartments, Carriage Hill Apartments, Carriage Park Apartments, Macomb Manor Apartments, Newburgh Square Apartments and Northview Harbor Apartments. The garden-style apartment complexes, which are located in Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids, feature amenities such as fitness centers, tennis courts, basketball courts, volleyball courts, clubhouses and barbecue areas. Adam Sasouness of Dwight originated the two-year, floating-rate loan. Marvin Jeremias of Crossmark Capital and Aaron Moll of Berkadia arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, New Jersey-based Valleytree Partners. The purpose of the bridge loan is to provide both acquisition financing and funding for capital improvements, including enhancing 50 percent of the units.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Northmarq has arranged the approximately $29 million refinancing of Arlington West Apartments, a 324-unit multifamily community located at 5049 Western Blvd. in Jacksonville, a city near North Carolina’s coast. Built in 2009, Arlington West spans 14 apartment buildings and features a resort-style saltwater swimming pool, playground, two dog parks, fitness center, game room and a business center. Bob Harrington and Paul Whalen of Northmarq arranged the 10-year, Freddie Mac loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. The interest-only loan was underwritten with a fixed interest rate in the mid-3 percent range.