ATLANTA — Newmark has arranged the $95 million sale of Signature West Midtown, a student housing community situated at 800 Marietta Street NW in Atlanta’s West Midtown district. The 525-bed property was completed in 2019 and primarily serves the student population at nearby Georgia Tech. Ryan Lang, Jack Brett and Bert Sanders of Newmark represented the sellers, Investcorp and Preiss Cos., in the transaction. Trent Houchin of Newmark arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, Ascott Residence Trust. This is the first investment in the U.S. student housing sector for Ascott, a hospitality trust based in Singapore. Signature West Midtown features studio and one- to five-bedroom units. Community amenities include a gym, pool, rooftop lounges and barbeque pits, a business center, study lounges, game room and delivery lockers.
Multifamily
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has provided a $28.9 million construction loan for Legacy Riverside Senior Living Community, a 264-unit affordable project in Fort Worth. Units, which will feature studio, one- and two-bedroom options, will be reserved for renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. Amenities will include a clubhouse, pool and walking paths. Phil Melton, Jeff Bradley and Cindy Hamm of Bellwether originated the loan on behalf of the borrowers, Legacy Multifamily Development and RISE Residential Construction, which will develop the property in partnership with Garland Housing Finance Corp.
AUSTIN, TEXAS AND ATLANTA — Austin-based Roscoe Property Management (RPM) and Atlanta-based CF Real Estate Services (CF) have merged to create an entity that will provide third-party property management services to a portfolio of more than 84,000 multifamily units across 17 states. The combined organization will have more than 1,800 employees with nine regional offices across the country. RPM, the acquiring entity, will remain headquartered in Austin. “This merger truly expands our geographic reach, strengthens our organizations and provides significant opportunities for the future,” said Jason Berkowitz, president and founder of RPM. “While we will operate under the RPM brand nationally, leaders from both companies have formed a collective executive team that will guide the organization under our shared alignment of a ‘people-first culture.’”
CHICAGO — Optima Inc. has topped off Optima Lakeview, a 198-unit luxury apartment project in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. The seven-story, transit-oriented development includes 14,000 square feet of street-level retail space. First move-ins are scheduled for spring 2022. Work on the project, which is situated on the site of a former Treasure Island grocery store, began five months ago. Optima is serving as both architect and general contractor. Optima Lakeview will feature 40,000 square feet of amenities, including a rooftop sky deck, indoor basketball court, golf simulator, fitness center, yoga room, sports lounge, dog park, game room, demonstration kitchen, business center and two conference rooms. Units will feature keyless entry and smart thermostat and lighting. Optima says the units are significantly larger than what’s currently available in the market in order to accommodate dedicated space for a home office with the rise of the work-from-home model.
DELAWARE, OHIO — Berkadia has provided a $16.5 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Flats on Houk in Delaware, about 30 miles north of Columbus. The 168-unit, garden-style community is located at 1000 Solomon Square. Amenities include a picnic area, pool, fitness center, recreation room, clubhouse, dog park and community garden. Scott Wilkie and Evan Ballmann of Berkadia’s Columbus office originated the 10-year loan, which features a 2.9 percent interest rate and a 55 percent loan-to-value ratio.
ROSELLE PARK, N.J. — Greystone has arranged a $65 million construction loan for a 325-unit multifamily project at 10 Westfield Ave. W. in the Northern New Jersey community of Roselle Park. The project will include the development of 16,000 square feet of retail space and a 518-space parking garage and an amenity package that consists of a courtyard, lounge, fitness center and meeting rooms. ACORE Capital provided the loan to Capodagli Property Co. Drew Fletcher, Miryam Kops and Bryan Grover of Greystone placed the debt. Completion is slated for 2023.
Cushman & Wakefield Brokers $64.5M Sale of Aspen Place Multifamily Community in Flagstaff, Arizona
by Amy Works
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of Village at Aspen Place, an apartment property located at 601 E. Piccadilly Drive in Flagstaff. An entity formed by Orange County, Calif.-based NNC Apartment Ventures acquired the asset from an entity formed by Kansas City, Mo.-based VanTrust Real Estate for $64.5 million. David Fogler and Steven Nicoluzakis of Cushman & Wakefield’s Multifamily Advisory Group in Phoenix represented the seller in the deal. Completed in 2015, Village at Aspen Place feature 222 units in a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom layouts. Community amenities include ground-floor retail space, an attached parking garage and elevator service to each floor.
Challenges abound for seniors housing: occupancies at historic lows, widespread outbreaks in 2020, steeply increased operating expenses all contribute to the industry difficulties Matt Pipitone, Seniors Housing Platform manager, M&T Realty Capital Corp., outlines when discussing the seniors housing outlook for 2021. When discussing this year and what needs to happen for the industry to recover, Pipitone explains, “The focus will be on the occupancy rebound. How much pent-up demand is there? We expect there to be some improvement in the near-term occupancies as they start climbing back towards more stabilized levels. However, it remains to be seen how quickly things will ramp back up. Each market will be different.” How have occupancy pressures impacted rents and incentives? How will newer projects continue to lease up? Pipitone knows there are many questions, but says “Overall, we hope to see things gradually improve throughout the rest of 2021. We still have a lot of confidence in our clients. They’re resilient, passionate about their residents (and residents’ families and staff) and they’ll persevere.” Watch as Pipitone discusses Fannie, Freddie, refinancing, bank involvement, lasting impacts from the pandemic and much more. This article is posted as part of REBusinessOnline’s Finance Insight series. Click here to …
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Sembler Co., a St. Petersburg, Fla.-based commercial real estate developer, plans to develop The Mill, a 46-acre mixed-use project in Myrtle Beach’s Carolina Forest community. The new development is slated to include retail, office space and multifamily. Sembler is partnering with Hawthorne Residential Partners on the apartment residences. Sembler and Hawthorne expect to begin construction this summer. The Mill is situated at the intersection of River Oaks Drive and Carolina Forest Boulevard, adjacent to The Parks of Carolina Forest, a roughly 800-unit housing development by D.R. Horton Inc. The Mill will include Marketplace at The Mill, a 66,680-square-foot neighborhood shopping center that features a freestanding, 46,800-square-foot Publix, as well as a six-acre parcel ideal for a medical or traditional office, hotel, mini-storage or other commercial use. The shopping center is expected to be complete by summer 2022. The Mill will also include Hawthorne at The Mill, a 290-unit multifamily residential community. The property will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units throughout two four-story buildings with elevator access and nine, two-story carriage-style buildings over private garages. The apartment community will also feature over 8,000 square feet of amenity space, including a luxury clubhouse with resident lounge, …
SAN ANTONIO — Lument, a subsidiary of ORIX Capital USA, has provided a Freddie Mac loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of Horizon Hill, a 273-unit multifamily asset in San Antonio that was built in 1982. John Sloot of Lument originated the debt, which was structured with a 10-year term, four years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. The sponsor, REEP Equity, purchased the property in 2018 and has since implemented a value-add program.