FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — Centurion American Development Co. and the City of Farmers Branch have broken ground on Mercer Crossing, a $1 billion mixed-use development in Farmers Branch, a northern suburb of Dallas. Situated on 370 acres at the corner of Luna Road and Whittington Lane, the property will include more than 2,250 apartments, a 48-acre office park, hotel, amphitheater and retail space.
YONKERS & NANUET, N.Y. — Jeremiah Houlihan of Houlihan Parnes Realtors has arranged an $850,000 first mortgage loan for a mixed-use building located at 925-939 Yonkers Ave. in Yonkers. The property consists of a two-story building with the Clairmont Diner on the first floor and three apartments on the second floor, along with an attached one-story building containing an automobile service station. Houlihan also arranged a $1.3 million first mortgage loan for a retail center located at 148-164 E. Route 59 in Nanuet. Tenants include Empire State College, Sterling Optical and Bach-to-Rock music school. The 10-year loans were placed with Savings Banks with a 25-year amortization schedule.
CHICAGO — American Street Capital (ASC) has arranged an $11.1 million loan for the acquisition of a 40-unit mixed-use property in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood. Built in 2009, the building consists of six ground-floor retail units and 34 residential units with a mix of two- and three-bedroom apartments. Additional amenities include in-unit washers and dryers, balconies, rooftop decks and indoor parking. Igor Zhizhin of ASC originated the seven-year loan, which includes a 30-year amortization schedule.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Bayer Properties has completed its 24-month, $70 million restoration of The Pizitz, a mixed-use property located at 120 19th St. in downtown Birmingham. The building now features 143 one- and two-bedroom apartments, a 13-vendor food court, two full-service restaurants, two 100-seat theaters and 13,000 square feet of co-working space. Prior to the restoration, The Pizitz, which was originally built in the 1920s to house a department store, had been closed for 28 years. Leasing began in December 2016.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated’s capital advisory division has arranged a $38.5 million construction loan for a 176,130-square-foot mixed-use development at 178-02 Hillside Ave. in Jamaica, Queens. The project will include 131 apartments on floors three through eight, over 10,000 square feet of retail space for a pharmacy, a 25,000-square-foot medical office space on the lower level and a public parking facility. Eastern Consolidated’s Adam Hakim, Andrew Iadeluca and James Murad arranged the transaction with Bank of the Ozarks on behalf of the borrower, Piermont Properties. Located at the northern end of Jamaica, 178-02 Hillside Ave. offers 200 feet of frontage. The corner site is adjacent to the neighborhoods of Jamaica Hills and Jamaica Estates, and above the F-Train 179 Street/Hillside Avenue Subway station.
STAMFORD, CONN. — Hunt Mortgage Group has provided a $28 million first mortgage bridge loan to facilitate the recapitalization and renovation of a mixed-use multifamily and commercial property in Stamford. Park Square West Apartments is a nine-story property located at 101 Summer St. The property was built in 1999 and includes 143 residential units, two commercial spaces and a 213-space parking garage. The unit mix features 10 studios, 64 one-bedroom units, 64 two-bedroom apartments and five three-bedroom units. The two-year floating rate loan includes three options to extend the term for a period of 12 months each. The residential component is currently 92 percent occupied and the commercial component is 100 percent occupied. The loan also includes a $703,000 capital improvement reserve, which will go toward renovations. Additional improvements planned include interior renovations of 48 of the property’s units, including replacing countertops and cabinets, flooring upgrades, installation of new lighting, bathroom fixtures and kitchen appliances. Property amenities include a concierge, shuttle service, valet dry cleaning, roof deck, fitness center, garage parking and a ground floor restaurant.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — The Shopping Center Group has arranged leases with five new tenants at Crosstown Concourse, a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development in midtown Memphis. The project is a redevelopment of a former Sears distribution center constructed in 1927. The new retailers and restaurants joining the tenant lineup include Farm Burger, Area 51 Ice Cream, MEMPOPS, SunTrust Bank and Gloss Nail Bar. Existing tenants include Kitchen Next Door, FedEx Office, Crosstown Brewing Co., Curb Market, I Love Juice, Mama Gaia, French Truck Coffee, Madison Pharmacy, So Nuts and Confections and Hope Credit Union. Crosstown Concourse features 620,000 square feet of commercial and office space, 265 residential units and 65,000 square feet of first-floor retail space. Shawn Massey led The Shopping Center Group is leasing Crosstown Concourse’s retail portion on behalf of the ownership group, Crosstown Building Owner Master Tenant LLC.
North American Properties to Debut 1.2 MSF Phase II of Avalon in Alpharetta, Known as Boulevard East
ALPHARETTA, GA. — North American Properties (NAP) will officially debut Phase II of the 86-acre Avalon mixed-use development in Alpharetta, which is dubbed Boulevard East, on Thursday, April 13. NAP sold the first phase of Avalon last summer to PGIM Real Estate, which will also acquire Boulevard East from NAP later this year. The 1.2 million-square-foot expansion will double the size of Avalon and feature upscale apartment residences, 20 new shops and restaurants, a new office building and the $112 million Hotel at Avalon and Alpharetta Conference Center, which will open in January. The 225,000-square-foot office building, known as 8000 Avalon, is a co-development between Hines and Atlanta-based Cousins Properties. Microsoft signed a 43,000-square-foot lease last year to anchor the property. Combined with Avalon’s existing loft office space, the overall office portion is expected to house 1,000 employees. Boulevard East’s multifamily component is known as Veranda at Avalon. The 276-unit apartment community is currently commanding an average $2.40 per square foot rental rate with monthly prices ranging from $1,525 to $4,884. Boulevard East’s 88,000-square-foot, street-level retail component is leased to Brooks Brothers, Urban Outfitters, Scout & Molly’s, Levi’s, Williams-Sonoma, Hammer Made, Boogaloos, Lucky Brand, Pottery Barn, South Moon Under and …
ATLANTA — The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has partnered with Place Properties and H. J. Russell & Co. to develop the King Memorial Station Transit Oriented Development (TOD), which has an estimated total development cost of $51.3 million. The joint venture replaces Walton Communities, which was initially awarded the project in 2014. The TOD will be co-located at the King Memorial MARTA station, which is located near downtown at 377 Decatur St. S.E. The project will feature a 400-unit apartment community and 10,000 square feet of retail space. The joint venture plans for 20 percent of the property’s units to be reserved as affordable housing. Place Properties has financed, acquired and developed more than 37,000 multifamily beds nationwide, valued at over $1.7 billion. H. J. Russell & Co. has more than 60 years of development experience that includes The Pad on Harvard near the College Park MARTA station, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
CONROE, TEXAS — D’Agostino Cos. and Slate Real Estate Partners have released details for a mixed-use project spanning 65 acres in the Houston submarket of Conroe. Individual features of the property include 120,000 square feet of medical/office space, 25,000 square feet of retail space, a four-story, 132-room hotel and five restaurant pad sites. Plans also include 254,238 square feet of multifamily space spread across 250 units, and 120 units totaling 120,000 square feet of space reserved for residents who are 55 or older. Delivery of the site, which has yet to be branded, is scheduled for October 2018.