GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Arbor Realty Trust Inc. has provided a $14 million Fannie Mae loan for the permanent financing of The Gateway at Belknap Apartments in Grand Rapids. Built in 2017, the apartment property features 88 units and ground-floor retail space. Michael Jehle of Arbor originated the 15-year, fixed-rate loan, which features a 30-year amortization schedule.
DETROIT — Cohn Commercial Properties has brokered the sale of El Tovar Apartments in Detroit’s Islandview neighborhood for $1.4 million. Located at 320-340 E. Grand Blvd., the apartment property consists of 72 units. The property was originally built in 1928 and is scheduled to undergo renovations. Harry Cohn and Marcel Pearl of Cohn Commercial represented both the buyer, Midwest Capital, and the seller, El Tovar Limited Dividend Housing Association LP.
CLARKSTON, MICH. — Crispelli’s Bakery & Pizzeria has signed a 3,892-square-foot lease in Clarkston. This will be the restaurant’s fourth location in Michigan. Crispelli’s will join T-Mobile, Great Clips and Jersey Mike’s at the new Shoppes of Clarkston development. Tjader Gerdom and Michael Murphy of Gerdom Realty represented the tenant in the lease transaction. Chris Jonna of CMP Real Estate Group represented the undisclosed landlord.
WILLOWBROOK, ILL. — Essex Realty Group Inc. has brokered the $15 million sale of Waterfall Glen in Willowbrook, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. The 142-unit condominium complex, located along Mockingbird Lane, features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The property is comprised of 19 buildings on 24.2 acres. Matt Welke and Matt Feo of Essex represented the private seller, while Brian Kochendorfer, Brian Karmowski and Troy Beebe represented the buyer.
ALTON AND BELLEVILLE, ILL. — Strawberry Fields REIT LLC has acquired two skilled nursing facilities near the Illinois-Missouri border for $5.9 million. The properties total 361 beds and include Integrity Healthcare of Alton in Alton and Integrity Healthcare of Belleville in Belleville. Both cities are suburbs of St. Louis and are located in Illinois. Integrity Healthcare Management will continue to operate the two facilities under a master lease agreement. The average occupancy in the homes is 48 percent. Among the residents at the two skilled nursing facilities, 6 percent are Medicare patients, 88 percent are Medicaid patients and 5 percent are private pay.
CHICAGO — Tucker Development has secured three new retail leases for its mixed-use development known as 900 West in Chicago’s Fulton Market. The retailers include Kinton Ramen, a Toronto-based ramen bar; Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams; and Independence, an upscale menswear boutique. All three businesses plan to open their new locations sometime this year. Completed in 2017, 900 West is the adaptive reuse of 10 historic buildings in the 900 block of West Randolph Street. Together, the buildings offer more than 45,000 square feet of street-level retail space and 45,000 square feet of office space on the upper floors. The office space is fully leased by co-working provider Spaces and private equity firm Parker Gale. Current retailers include lululemon, Bluemercury and Bonci Pizzeria.
MARQUETTE, MICH. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of three net leased properties in Marquette for $3.7 million. The properties include an 84,180-square-foot Kohl’s, an Applebee’s pad site and another pad site occupied by Verizon Wireless and H&R Block. The buildings are outparcels of Westwood Mall. Mark Taylor, Shannon Bona and Brian Sy of Marcus & Millichap marketed the portfolio on behalf of the seller, a private development company. Taylor, along with Donovan Mackey, secured the private equity buyer.
TROY, MICH. — The City of Troy Planning Commission has approved the final site plan for a new 9,844-square-foot retail center at the southeast corner of Tower Drive and Crooks Road. Plans call for three fast-casual restaurants and an additional commercial tenant. A new pedestrian path along Crooks Road will connect the retail center to the existing sidewalk and to the 901 Tower office building. Construction is expected to begin as early as this summer. No further site plan approvals, other than building permits, are required. NORR Architects, Engineers and Planners designed the property. Dominion Real Estate Advisors will market the property for lease.
Todd Harrop, executive vice president and national director of capital markets at Bellwether Enterprise in Columbus, Ohio, believes 2019 will be another opportunistic year for lenders and intermediaries. REBusinessOnline discussed with Harrop the abundance of capital in this market – and how discipline and changes in capital providers’ programs have put these funds to work. What is the biggest challenge you anticipate in 2019 as an intermediary in commercial real estate? Much like 2018, we continue to be optimistic about the commercial real estate finance market in 2019. In 2018, we were challenged with a variety of market disruptors including rising interest rates, market volatility, geopolitical risks, and signs of an overall slowing global economy. In 2019, we expect these disruptors to continue. Furthermore, the debt space remains very crowded as capital flows continue to rise and opportunities have declined due to fewer refinance opportunities. The good news is capital is far from complacent and underwriting remains very disciplined, which should enable the markets to continue to function well. Where do you see the biggest opportunity for your company in 2019? In general, I believe there is an increased opportunity for mortgage bankers/intermediaries in 2019. This is due to the fact …
Records were meant to be broken. That’s a phrase commercial lenders have become fairly familiar with over the past few years. Multifamily lending, in particular, has enjoyed a good run. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Mortgage Bankers Association released the MBA Annual Report on Multifamily Lending. According to the report, strong market conditions helped fuel a 6 percent increase in multifamily lending in 2017. Lenders provided a record high of $285 billion in new mortgages for apartment buildings with five or more units. Jamie Woodwell, vice president of commercial real estate research for MBA, cited a few reasons for this uptick in activity. “The multifamily lending market in 2017 benefited from improving fundamentals, rising property values and low interest rates,” he says. “The result was larger loan sizes and record levels of overall borrowing and lending…Demand came from borrowers and lenders of all sizes, with loan amounts ranging from thousands of dollars to hundreds of millions.” This breakneck pace continued last year as low unemployment, job growth and overall economic strength gave investors and lenders confidence in the market. Freddie Mac had its best year ever in terms of multifamily production in 2018. The government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) closed …