KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII — Berkadia Seniors Housing & Healthcare has provided a $16.6 million refinancing for a 123-unit assisted living community in Kailua-Kona, located on the west coast of the Hawaii Island. Jay Healy secured the 35-year loan through HUD’s 232/223(f) program. The financing retired an $11.7 million Berkadia bridge loan funded in August 2017 to facilitate the acquisition and subsequent $4.5 million renovation completed in early 2020. The borrower was also able to utilize HUD loan proceeds to pay off the remaining balance of the unsecured seller financing, as well as some outstanding partnership debt. The borrower, a Washington-based owner-operator, previously managed the building on behalf of the seller. At the time of purchase, occupancy was well below its potential due primarily to capital expenditure needs. As part of the remodel, the buyer addressed all deferred maintenance, updated the common areas and installed solar panels for both electricity and hot water. As a result, the new owner was able to push rents and bring occupancy up to 87 percent, a number which is expected to continue to increase as COVID-depressed occupancy improves across the sector.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Robbins Property Associates, a multifamily owner and operator, has acquired SoBA Apartments, a 147-unit multifamily property in Jacksonville. Robbins Property acquired the property from Atlanta-based Catalyst Development Partners for $35.4 million, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal. Built in 2020, SoBA Apartments is four stories tall and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The units feature kitchens with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, walk-in closets and patios. Community amenities include a pool with in-water lounge chairs, clubroom, open-air game lounge, kitchen with gas grill stations, outdoor lounge, self-service grooming pet spa, 24-hour fitness club and an outdoor yoga garden. The property’s clubroom has a Starbucks beverage café, game room and a business lounge. Located at 1444 Home St., SoBA Apartments is situated on the Southbank in the downtown submarket of Jacksonville. The apartment complex is situated about 0.7 mile from San Marco Square, which has dining and shopping options. Robbins Property Associates is a real estate private equity firm with offices in Tampa and Boston. The company currently owns and operates 22 properties totaling over 5,700 units in Florida.
ATLANTA — Songy Highroads, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate investment and development firm, and its partner Healey Weatherholtz Properties has purchased the site currently housing the Atlanta Food Truck Park. The 2.7-acre site is located at the northwest corner of Howell Mill Road and Interstate 75 on the border of Atlanta’s West Midtown and Buckhead districts. The sales price and seller were not disclosed. Songy Highroads intends to develop the site for a mixed-use project comprising more than 200 multifamily units, along with retail and hospitality uses. The food truck will continue to be open and operating on a temporary basis, at least through the fall. The food truck first opened in 2012. Cooper Carry, an Atlanta-based architectural firm, is in charge of the development’s design. Songy Highroads focuses on the acquisition, development and redevelopment of real estate projects primarily in the office, multifamily and hotel sectors. Healey Weatherholtz is an Atlanta-based real estate company focused on developing and renovating properties to meet local communities’ needs.
ROCKFORD, ILL. — Greystone Bel Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of a five-property multifamily portfolio in Rockford for $43.3 million. The portfolio totals 582 units. The properties include Hampton Ridge, Hampton Woods, Hampton Courtyard, Hampton Crossings and Hampton Meadows. Completed from 1958 to 2008, the properties offer a variety of one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 1,094 square feet. William Montana and Christopher Sackley of Greystone Bel represented the seller. Buyer and seller information were not disclosed.
WARRENVILLE, ILL. — McShane Construction Co. has completed Arden Residences in Warrenville, about 30 miles west of Chicago. Interforum Holdings was the developer for the 364-unit luxury apartment complex. The four-story property offers 201 one-bedroom units, 153 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units wrapped around a 386-space parking garage. Amenities include a fitness center, yoga studio, business center, library, massage room, sauna, arts and crafts room, pool, barbecue areas and two pickle ball courts. Baranyk Associates served as architect.
PHILADELPHIA — Locally based investment firm Equus Capital Partners has sold Hill House, a 188-unit high-rise apartment complex in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood. The property offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units with stainless steel appliances and quartz countertops. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, resident lounge, coffee bar, private library and an outdoor courtyard with grilling areas. Erin Miller, Lizann McGowan and Marybeth Farris of Newmark brokered the deal. Sentinel Real Estate Corp. purchased Hill House, which was 99 percent occupied at the time of sale, for an undisclosed price. Equus originally acquired the property in 2015 and invested $3.7 million in capital improvements over the course of the holding period.
LOS ANGELES — Standard Communities and Faring have formed a joint venture with plans to create more than $2 billion of middle-income housing across California over the next 18 to 24 months. The strategic partnership, Standard-Faring Essential Housing, will engage in both ground-up construction of middle-income rental housing and the acquisition and conversion of existing market-rate properties. The partnership recently created more than 650 units of dedicated middle-income housing in Southern California with a total capitalization of over $400 million. The transactions utilized tax-exempt bond financing provided by CSCDA Community Improvement Authority, a state program that seeks to improve the availability of housing for Californians earning approximately the same as the area median income (AMI). Upon taking ownership, CSCDA Community Improvement Authority worked with Standard-Faring Essential Housing as project administrator to immediately lower rents for new residents who qualify with incomes between 80 percent and 120 percent of AMI. “By focusing on middle-income housing, California cities can ensure that middle-income families and essential workers such as first responders, hospital and healthcare staff, and teachers can afford to live near their jobs in the communities they serve,” says Jeffrey Jaeger, principal and co-founder of Standard Communities. “This joint venture will provide …
RANDOLPH, N.J. — Developer Value Cos. has broken ground on the final phases of Gateways at Randolph, a rental community in Northern New Jersey. The final phases will deliver 104 two-bedroom residences across four buildings and a 7,000-square-foot leasing office. Upon full completion, Gateways at Randolph will consist of more than 1,000 units, with the newest residences ranging in size from 981 to 1,100 square feet. Communal amenities include a pool, fitness center, playground, volleyball court and grilling areas.
By Jason Krug, Berkadia Sunbelt states are top of mind for multifamily investors these days, as COVID-19 has accelerated the trend of renters leaving major cities in search of more space and a better cost of living. Of course, the allure of sunshine and warm weather is hard to compete with, but cities across the Midwest are also seeing a spike in interest from renters and investors and chief among them is Detroit. There has been overwhelming interest in multifamily opportunities in and around the city, as investors looking for yield move beyond core and core-plus markets in search of real value deals, which Detroit has aplenty. So, what’s driving this interest, and why should more investors be paying attention to Detroit? There are a few key reasons. Solid fundamentals Limited supply of new units being delivered across the state will continue to drive organic rent growth. As is the case across the country, there is a shortage of housing throughout Detroit and the metro area. Although Detroit’s population growth is smaller compared to the South and Southeast, the region has a fraction of the units coming out of the ground as the South and Southeast, paving the way for …
By Taylor Williams ATLANTA — Even before the pandemic struck the United States in early 2020, rising labor costs were putting downward pressure on margins for seniors housing owners and operators. The public health and economic crises stemming from COVID-19 have only amplified the problem, say seniors housing professionals. In an industry where renters overwhelmingly belong to one of the most COVID-19-susceptible demographics, seniors housing operators are now wrestling with the question of whether to require staffers to get vaccinated. At the same time, they are battling widespread wage increases brought on by a labor shortage compounded by the steady flow of federal unemployment benefits. The net result is that both third-party operators and owner-operators of seniors housing properties — from independent living to skilled nursing — are seeing their costs rise. Simultaneously, these groups are also struggling to recoup occupancies and revenues lost to COVID-19. And while labor is not the only operating expense on the rise within the seniors housing space, it’s a unique line item in the sense that it has dual external forces acting upon it. This realization was not lost on a “power panel” of executives who own and operate seniors housing properties and who …