By Taylor Williams DALLAS — As is the case for many commercial asset classes and markets in 2025, there is an expectation of elevated deal volume for investment sales of affordable housing properties in Texas. But brokers in that space caution that the rebound will likely be marginal and is not necessarily indicative of ideal market conditions taking hold. A quintet of panelists broke down this notion and others at the InterFace Texas Affordable & Workforce Housing conference on Feb. 13 at the Westin Galleria Dallas hotel. Mary Ann Bennett, senior managing director at BBG Real Estate Services, moderated the discussion on investment sales activity. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Panelist Michael Furrow, senior vice president of affordable housing at commercial finance firm BWE, took the audience of 200-plus back in time to illustrate just how quiet the past two years had been. He did so by providing statistics on affordable housing sales for Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) between 2021 — when multifamily rents and sales prices were peaking across the board — and 2024, when they …
Multifamily
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and the University of Texas at Austin are underway on construction of a $145 million student housing project. The development will replace a six-building, 200-bed student housing complex located along Whitis Avenue on the northwestern part of the campus with a 1,070-bed building. The new student housing building will feature a mix of single and double rooms with community bathrooms, an area housing office and a variety of student amenities, including lounges, study spaces and a university-managed conference center. Clark Nexsen and Levy Dykema are the project architects, and Andres Construction is the general contractor. Demolitions of existing structures and preliminary sitework work commenced in June 2024, and the new facility is scheduled to open in advance of the fall 2027 semester.
RICHMOND, VA. — The City of Richmond’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) has sold and transferred an 18-acre parcel to the developer of Diamond District, a $2.4 billion mixed-use development in the Virginia state capital. The developer, an entity led by Thalhimer Realty Partners Inc. called Diamond District Partners LLC, will soon begin construction on public works infrastructure and a mixed-use development on the site. The parcel, called Phase 1A, will include six acres of public infrastructure that will be conveyed back to the city and the EDA upon completion. The remainder of the parcel will house a 180-room hotel, 161 workforce housing units that will be reserved for households earning 60 percent of the area median income, 730 market-rate apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space that can be expanded. The land sold for $11.4 million. Phase 1B and Phase 1C of Diamond District will include an additional 177 affordable housing units, 625 market-rate apartments and 126,000 square feet of commercial space. Additionally, CarMax Park, the future home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels Minor League Baseball team, is under construction within the Diamond District and is scheduled to open in 2026. Diamond District Partners LLC anticipates breaking ground on …
Joint Venture Secures Financing for Office-to-Residential Conversion Project for Former Duke Energy Building in Charlotte
by John Nelson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A joint venture between MRP Realty, Asana Partners and Rockefeller Group has received construction financing for Brooklyn & Church, an adaptive reuse project in Charlotte. The project will convert the former Duke Energy headquarters, located at 526 S. Church St., into a 460-unit apartment community with 57,000 square feet of retail space. The financing amount and construction timeline were not disclosed. The Duke Energy headquarters was originally built in 1975. MRP Realty and Asana Partners acquired the building in 2022. The building’s core and shell will be preserved, but the façade will be reskinned with new windows and balconies. Once converted, Brooklyn & Church will comprise 800,000 square feet across 13 stories, with amenities including a rooftop deck and pool with grilling stations, fitness center and spa space, coworking space, bike room and a dog run with pet spa. The property’s loft-style apartments will have 13.6-foot, exposed ceilings. In addition to the apartments and ground-floor retail space, the property will offer a new three-story, 30,000-square-foot retail building at the corner of Church Street and Brooklyn Village Avenue that will be connected to the main building via a 60-foot walkway.
Berkadia Negotiates Sale of Multifamily Development Site in Metro Charlotte, Buyer Plans 320-Unit Community
by John Nelson
INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — Berkadia has negotiated the sale of a 28.2-acre multifamily development site in Indian Trail, a southeast suburb of Charlotte. Caleb Troop and Thomas Colaiezzi of Berkadia’s Charlotte office led the transaction on behalf of the seller, High Point, N.C.-based Royal Management. The buyer, a partnership between locally based The Spectrum Cos. and Chicago-based Heitman LLC, plans to develop a 320-unit apartment community on the site called Evoke at Indian Trail. TD Bank is providing construction financing for the project, which is located adjacent to The Shops at Sun Valley and across the street from a Publix-anchored shopping center. The construction timeline was not released.
BOSTON — UC Funds, a Boston-based debt fund, has provided an $11 million acquisition loan for a portfolio of four multifamily properties in northwest Texas totaling 275 units. Known as the Medlock Portfolio, the properties are located in Amarillo, Lubbock and Plainview. The loan carries an 18-month term, and the undisclosed sponsor will use a portion of the proceeds to fund stabilization and lease-up costs. Additional details of the transaction were not disclosed.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has approved a $64 million tax credit for Bayfront Promenade, a 210-unit mixed-income multifamily project in Jersey City. The development will be located on the city’s west side and will include 74 affordable housing units and 10,600 square feet of commercial space. Amenities will include a rooftop terrace, fitness center with a yoga room, coworking lounge, community room with a kitchen area and a children’s playroom. Residents at Bayfront Promenade will also have access to onsite parking, as well as a daycare center and credit union that will both be operated by Greater Bergen Community Action Inc., which was also a co-applicant for the subsidy. The developer is an entity doing business as Bayfront Partners 32 Urban Renewal. The NJEDA delivered the tax credit through its Aspire program, which supports mixed-use, transit-oriented developments that have financing gaps. The capital stack also includes Low-Income Housing Tax Credits issued by the New Jersey Housing Mortgage & Finance Agency. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
BAYONNE AND EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Dwight Mortgage Trust, the affiliate REIT of New York City-based Dwight Capital, has funded two bridge loans totaling $45 million for the refinancing of a pair of apartment complexes in New Jersey. In the first transaction, Dwight Mortgage Trust provided $21 million in financing for Silk Lofts, an 85-unit apartment complex in the Northern New Jersey community of Bayonne that is a redevelopment of the former factory of women’s apparel retailer Maidenform. The property comprises nine studios, 49 one-bedroom units and 27 two-bedroom units. Amenities include a fitness center, package room and indoor and outdoor lounges. In the second deal, Dwight provided $24 million for Summerhill Gardens, a 96-unit property in the Central New Jersey community of East Brunswick. Summerhill Gardens offers amenities such as a fitness center, playground, pool table, indoor and outdoor lounges and outdoor grilling stations. About a quarter (24) of the residences are designated as affordable housing. The borrower on both deals was AMS Acquisitions.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — Greystone has provided a $20.8 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Wynnewood Greens, a 206-unit multifamily property located in the Lehigh Valley city of Allentown. Built in 1975, Wynnewood Greens comprises 18 three-story buildings that house one-, two- and three -bedroom units. Amenities include outdoor picnic areas and onsite laundry facilities. Avi Lifshitz and Aviel Hematian of Greystone originated the seven-year, nonrecourse loan, which was structured with a fixed interest rate and full-term interest-only payments. The borrower, S&S Properties, purchased the asset in 2008.
FRANKLIN PARK, ILL. — General contractor F.H. Paschen has broken ground on an 80-unit seniors housing community in the western Chicago suburb of Franklin Park, which is part of Leyden Township. Evergreen Real Estate Group is the developer for the project, which is named Leyden Senior Apartments. The four-story residential building will also feature the new Carl Fiorito Senior Center, a one-story community center that will complement the apartments. Designed by Weese Langley Klein Architects and scheduled to open in summer 2026, the development is a collaborative effort between Leyden Township, Evergreen, owner Leyden Apartments LP and F.H. Paschen. Evergreen will also serve as property manager. The project site is 2.8 acres of vacant land located at the intersection of Mannheim Road and Nevada Avenue. The development is financed through multiple sources, including the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Bank of America, Hudson Housing, Leyden Township and the Cook County Department of Planning and Development. Mesirow Financial participated in the underwriting syndicate for the IHDA financing and served as the lead underwriter for Leyden Township’s General Obligation bond offering.