The Milwaukee multifamily sector is plowing forward on a number of different fronts. Development activity is continuing its impressive run with a series of high-rise towers in various stages of construction or planning. Popular neighborhoods such as Walker’s Point, Bayview and the East Side are filling in with low- and mid-rise projects, many of which feature a mixed-use component. From an investment standpoint, multifamily is still the sector du jour, with a widening investor pool of both local and out-of-state buyers. Leading the charge on the development front is Northwestern Mutual’s 7Seventy7, which is currently under construction in downtown Milwaukee with an anticipated opening in summer 2018. The 34-story complex will feature 322 apartments, ground-floor commercial and 1,400 parking spaces, many of which will service employees at the company’s recently completed 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters located only one block away. Other major projects yet to break ground but slated to reshape the skyline in the coming years include: • The Couture — Barrett Lo Visionary Development is planning to build a 44-story tower with 300-plus units, retail and parking across the street from the planned Lakefront Gateway Plaza, which will connect the area between the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Summerfest …
Multifamily
SAN DIEGO — Berkeley Point Capital has provided $105 million in acquisition financing for the 448-unit Avion at Spectrum apartment community in San Diego. The community is located at 8811 Spectrum Center Blvd. The property was purchased by an affiliate of Prime Residential. The luxury apartments were completed in 2002 and partially upgraded by the seller in 2012. Avion at Spectrum features oval garden soaking tubs, crown molding, nine-foot ceilings, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The pet-friendly community is near Interstate 15, Interstate 805 and Highway 163. Amenities include a resort-style spa, pool with cabanas, grilling area, fire pit and fitness studio.
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — TSB Realty LLC has arranged the sale of The Element, a 792-bed student housing community located near California State University-Sacramento. The community offers one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom, fully furnished units. Shared amenities include a resort-style swimming pool, updated fitness facility, covered basketball half-court, lighted sand volleyball court and game room. TSB represented the seller, a joint venture between VerTex Student Housing Partners and Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, in the transaction. Nelson Brothers acquired the property for an undisclosed price.
SAN CLEMENTE, CALIF. — CareTrust REIT Inc. has acquired three skilled nursing facilities in Southern California, and provided mortgage financing on a fourth. CareTrust entered into a tenant agreement with Providence Group, which has operated all four facilities since 2015. The names of the facilities were not disclosed. The total investment for the three-facility, 528-bed portfolio was approximately $69 million inclusive of transaction costs. The properties will yield approximately $6.1 million in initial annual cash rent, according to CareTrust. The mortgage on the 104-bed skilled nursing facility was $12.5 million inclusive of transaction costs, at an annual interest income of 9 percent. The master lease carries an initial term of 15 years, with two five-year renewal options and CPI-based rent escalators. The acquisition was funded using CareTrust REIT’s $400 million unsecured revolving credit facility.
READING, MASS. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of Residence at Pearl Street, an 83-unit assisted living and memory care community in the Boston suburb of Reading, for an undisclosed price. The seller was a joint venture between LCB Senior Living and Virtus Real Estate. A new joint venture between LCB and Artemis Real Estate Properties acquired the asset. LCB will continue to operate the property. The community was originally an elementary school built in 1939 and is now a historic building. In 1996 the building was redeveloped into a seniors housing community and a purpose-built wing was added that currently houses the majority of the residential units. The property underwent a $3.3 million renovation in 2014 and 2015. LCB stabilized the community by the end of 2016 with occupancy over 90 percent. The Cushman & Wakefield team involved in the transactions included Rick Swartz, Jay Wagner, Jim Dooley and Caryn Miller.
EDISON, N.J. — CBRE has arranged the sale of Washington Park Apartments, an apartment complex located at 1940 Lincoln Parkway, Route 27 in Edison. Joseph’s Wish LLC sold the property for $6.2 million. Situated on 1.9 acres, the garden-style apartment complex features 52 units. At the time of sale, the property was fully occupied. Nat Gambuzza and Spencer Beriont of CBRE represented the seller and procured the undisclosed buyer in the deal.
OLATHE, KAN. — Passco Cos. has acquired Greenwood Reserve in Olathe, a suburb of Kansas City, for $38.3 million. The 228-unit apartment property, built in 2016, is located at 13825 College Blvd. Amenities include a pool, community grilling area, cyber café, business center, resident lounge and fitness center with yoga studio. Jeff Stingley of CBRE represented both Passco and the seller, an affiliated entity of Cityscape Residential. Chris Black and Caleb Marten of KeyBank Real Estate Capital arranged acquisition financing for Passco through Fannie Mae.
MADISON, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of River’s Edge and Fordem Towers in Madison for $37 million. Together, the two multifamily properties total nine buildings and 420 units. Both are located approximately two miles east of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. River’s Edge, completed in two phases in 1974 and 1984, consists of seven three-story buildings totaling 312 market-rate units. Fordem Towers, built in 1982, features two seven-story buildings totaling 108 units. The units, 27 of which are earmarked for low-income housing through a housing assistance payments (HAP) contract, range from 390 to 1,666 square feet. Matthew Whiteside of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an Illinois-based limited liability company, and procured the buyer, a Colorado-based limited liability company.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — White Point Partners has broken ground on Huger Street, a 190-unit multifamily development located between King and Meeting streets in downtown Charleston. White Point’s capital advisor, Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group, arranged a construction loan through Worthington Hyde Partners on top of a senior construction loan from Synovus Bank for the development. Huger Street will feature an elevated fitness center, sky deck pool and a café. Construction on the property is expected to take 24 months, with lease-up commencing at the end of 2018.
With 4,900 new rental units coming on line this year in Northern New Jersey, inquiring minds are asking whether demand here is keeping pace with supply. The short answer is “yes.” New multifamily inventory continues to lease up, especially along the Hudson River Gold Coast, with performance meeting and exceeding developer expectations market-wide. Rental rates for Class A apartment product in Northern New Jersey have increased 3 percent year over year, registering at $2,369 at the midway point of 2017, according to Reis. Vacancy had been trending down since mid-2016, with a slight tick up in the second quarter of 2017, currently resting at 5.2 percent due to the delivery of 1,600 units in the last three months. Compare this to a $1,336 average rent and 4.4 percent vacancy rate nationwide, and New Jersey’s sustained appeal to investors and developers is unquestionable. However, multifamily investment sales to date in 2017 have been fairly measured — with fewer opportunities coming onto the market. For sales in excess of $10 million through August 2017, the volume has totaled $1.07 billion with the number of units sold totaling 4,708 (down 12 percent and 43 percent respectively compared to the same time in 2016) …