MICHIGAN — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided an $18.8 million CMBS loan for the refinancing of an eight-property self-storage portfolio in Michigan. Known as Berger U-Store Portfolio, the assets total 3,176 units and 431,755 square feet. Dennis Bernard and Kevin Kovachevich of Bernard Financial arranged the 10-year loan, which will be used to refinance existing debt on seven of the properties and acquire the remaining property.
HOWELL, MICH. — Capital One has provided a $13.2 million, fixed-rate HUD loan to refinance an 88-bed skilled nursing facility in Howell, approximately 50 miles northwest of Detroit. The unnamed facility has earned a five-star rating from Medicare, and was 98.9 percent occupied at the time of refinancing. The name of the facility and borrower were not disclosed. Joshua Rosen of Capital One originated the loan. The transaction enabled the borrower to replace bank debt with long-term financing and to recoup capital expenditures. “The substantial additional cash flow that this transaction frees up illustrates the benefits of HUD’s 232/223(f) program,” says Rosen. “The borrowers are benefiting from both a lower rate and an extended amortization period, which in the case of this loan is 35 years.”
AUGUSTA, MICHIGAN — CBRE|Martin has arranged the $950,000 sale of Brook Lodge, a 66,603-square-foot hotel and conference center in Augusta, about 15 miles east of Kalamazoo. Situated on 82.6 acres, the property consists of eight cottages totaling 48 guestrooms. CBRE|Martin represented the seller, Michigan State University (MSU), which acquired the property in 2000, in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed. Prior to MSU’s acquisition of Brook Lodge, the property served as a conference center for employees of Upjohn Co., a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm that was established in Kalamazoo in the late 19th century. In the early 2000s, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer acquired Upjohn, which had previously merged with Sweden-based Pharmacia in 1995.
LYON TOWNSHIP, MICH. — Investment group CORE BKG has purchased a 30-acre site located at 54500 and 54650 Grand River Ave. in southeast Michigan’s Lyon Township. CORE BKG plans to develop Lyon Commerce Center, which will consist of three industrial buildings totaling 450,300 square feet. The buildings will be suited for distribution, high-tech and light manufacturing uses. Construction is scheduled to begin in June. CORE BKG includes principals form both CORE Partners and Burton-Katzman.
Metro Detroit’s office recovery continues to steadily march forward. Local and national commercial real estate investors are showing a renewed appetite for buying and renovating existing buildings, and even developing new product. The City of Detroit has experienced the quickest recovery, going from near stagnant activity with a vacancy rate of 21.5 percent to a single-digit vacancy of 8 percent with multiple new developments in the past eight years, according to CoStar Group. Dan Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, invested in about 90 Detroit properties, totaling 15 million square feet, which kicked off Detroit’s rehabilitation. This prompted several other companies to stake an interest in Detroit’s Central Business District. The resurgence continues, and today numerous projects are in development that appeal to millennials and empty nesters alike. Most of these projects are situated on Woodward Avenue, which has been the center of the area’s rebirth. Within a few blocks of this avenue reside most of the renovated office buildings, the stadium district, new shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and cultural institutions like the Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum and The Detroit Opera House. Currently, there are several multifamily projects in downtown Detroit such as Midtown …
DETROIT — At the conclusion of his speech at the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Spring Meeting in Detroit, billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert gave conference goers one piece of advice. “Get in on some of these investments in Detroit,” he said. “It’s not too late.” The event, held May 1-3 at the Cobo Center, drew 4,200 attendees from the real estate industry. It was the first ULI event in Detroit in 40 years. Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans Inc., spoke at the opening panel along with Christopher Ilitch, president and CEO of Ilitch Holdings Inc. Robert Taubman, president and CEO of Taubman Centers Inc., moderated the session, entitled “Detroit’s Renaissance.” Subject matter ranged from Detroit’s past to present, including development highlights and the resilient DNA of its citizens. Gilbert’s real estate company, Bedrock, has acquired and developed more than 100 commercial properties totaling over 16 million square feet in the city’s urban core. The Ilitch family, made famous by Little Caesars Pizza, owns both the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers and is responsible for a 50-block mixed-use project under development known as The District Detroit. For decades, the Motor City was a well-publicized story of economic decline …
PORTLAND, MICH. — Woda Cooper Cos. Inc. has completed Portland School Apartments in Portland, about 25 miles northwest of Lansing. Formerly Portland School, which dates back to 1919, the property is now home to 29 apartment units. The units are affordable for those earning no more than 60 percent of the area median income. Amenities include an elevator, a large community room, fitness center, outdoor BBQ space and gazebo. The school closed in 1996. The property was temporarily used for housing, but has mostly sat vacant. Low-income housing tax credits allocated by Michigan State Housing Development Authority and historic credits from the National Park Service helped fund the $7.4 million project. PNC purchased the tax credits and provided the construction, bridge and permanent loans.
PLYMOUTH, MICH. — Alliant Credit Union has provided a $3.5 million loan for the refinancing of a 41,400-square-foot industrial property in Plymouth, about 25 miles west of Detroit. The research and development property is located within Metro West Technology Park. The 10-year loan features a 25-year amortization schedule. Chris Charboneau of Walker & Dunlop arranged the loan. The borrower was not disclosed.
DETROIT — PEA Inc. has opened a new 2,400-square-foot office in downtown Detroit. The site development design firm will occupy the space at the 45 West Grand River building, which is owned by Bedrock. Renovations were recently made to the office, which is now open. PEA, which specializes in civil engineering, land surveying and landscape architecture, operates four offices in southeast Michigan.
At a time when downtown Detroit is in the midst of a civic renaissance, the state of the city’s multifamily real estate market is both a reflection of larger trends and a sign of what might be in store for the Motor City in the years ahead. To keep a pulse on the market, Broder & Sachse Real Estate compiles a market study twice a year to evaluate the rental and occupancy rates of all multifamily properties downtown. Through this research, the continued strength of Detroit’s multifamily market is abundantly clear, with an average occupancy rate of 95.6 percent across downtown in winter 2018. This occupancy rate indicates demand is high, especially coupled by the findings in the Downtown Detroit Partnership’s third Greater Downtown Residential Market Study released in 2017. The study estimated that an additional 10,000 units will be needed over the next five years. The need for these additional 10,000 units means supply — or a relative lack thereof — is also part of the equation. While the number of residential units in Detroit has increased by a great deal on a percentage basis, in relative terms the volume of quality residential product is still somewhat limited. Today, …