On Dec. 15, Texas Real Estate Business hosted “What is the Outlook for the Affordable Housing Sector in Texas?” Listen to hear how the leaders in the industry are coping with challenges from both a broker/lender perspective and a developer/owner perspective. How are Texas experts addressing the affordable housing crisis? See below for a brief list of topics covered by each panel. Panel One: Broker/Lender Insight Biden administration’s likely approach to affordable housing & opportunity zones Cap rates & interest rates Pandemic effects on affordable & workforce housing Revisions to underwriting practices Fannie and Freddie’s influence? Panel Two: Developer Insight Expanding markets Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition and bond cap constraints Collections Reserve requirements Barriers to workforce & affordable housing Webinar sponsors: KeyBank Real Estate Capital: Deep industry expertise allows KeyBank to bring valuable content and actionable ideas to their clients. They’re ready to help guide the clients’ business toward strategic goals through customized financial solutions. M&T Realty Capital Corp.: M&T Realty Capital Corporation® is a full-service mortgage banking company that specializes in providing competitive financing nationwide for commercial properties, including affordable and market-rate multifamily, seniors housing, healthcare facilities, and office, industrial and retail properties. Newmark: Newmark’s integrated platform delivers seamlessly …
AUBURN, ALA. — A joint venture between The Preiss Co. and a private equity real estate fund advised by Crow Holdings Capital has acquired a 600-bed, cottage-style student housing community from Aspen Heights, a student housing developer based in Austin, Texas. The sales price was not disclosed. The community — rebranded The Collective at Auburn — serves students attending Auburn University in Alabama. Capital improvements are planned for the property, including a complete redesign of its clubhouse and amenity areas, new exterior paint, the addition of more in-unit furniture and the installation of LED lighting and water-saving devices. According to Donna Preiss, founder and CEO of The Preiss Co., upgrades will be handled in phases to ensure minimal resident disruption. Communal amenities include a pool, hot tub, outdoor fireplace, volleyball court, clubhouse, computer lab, study lounge, movie theater, game room and a fitness center. The property is 95 percent preleased for the fall 2021 semester.
HOUSTON — Berkadia has brokered the sale of Chartwell Court, a 243-unit apartment community in North Houston. Built in 1995, the property offers one- and two-bedroom units that average more than 1,000 square feet and feature walk-in closets, individual washers and dryers and private patios and balconies. Amenities include a pool, business center, fitness center, outdoor grilling areas and a clubhouse. Ryan Epstein, Jennifer Ray and Scott Bray of Berkadia represented the seller, Los Angeles-based National Asset Services Inc., in the transaction. The buyer was San Antonio-based REEP Equity.
CHICAGO — PGIM Real Estate has provided an $81.7 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of The Draper, a 342-unit, 11-story apartment complex in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. CEDARst Cos. was the borrower. The Draper is a redevelopment of an office building dating back to the 1950s. CEDARst began converting the building into apartments in 2018 and completed renovations in 2019. Of the property’s 342 units, 10 percent are reserved for residents earning up to 60 percent of the area median income. The fixed-rate loan has a 12-year term with six years of interest-only payments. Craig Foreman and Lee McNeer of PGIM Real Estate originated the loan. PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment and financing business of PGIM, the $1.4 trillion global investment management business of Prudential Financial Inc.
WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. — Mortgage banking company Merchants Capital has arranged a $17 million HUD-insured loan for the refinancing of Trailside Flats in West Lafayette. Van Rooy Properties Inc. was the borrower that received the 35-year, nonrecourse loan through the HUD 223(f) program, which is used for the purchase or refinancing of multifamily properties. The 195-unit multifamily property is located at 2101 Country Squire Court. In 2017, Van Rooy acquired an existing multifamily property at the site and renovated it in addition to developing new buildings on vacant land. Amenities at the property include a pool, fitness center, coworking space, bocce ball court and coffee bar.
SAN ANTONIO — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged a loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of Franklin Park Alamo Heights, a 221-unit seniors housing community in San Antonio. Built in 2017 by locally based owner-operator Franklin Park, the property offers independent living, assisted living and memory care services. Richard Swartz, Jay Wagner, Jim Dooley and Jack Griffin of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the loan through an unnamed regional bank on behalf of Franklin Park.
LOS ANGELES — A public-private partnership between American Campus Communities and the University of Southern California (USC) has completed a second phase of a student housing development. The residence hall is located at 1630 San Pablo St. near the university’s Curry Hall and the LAC+USC Medical Center. Shared amenities at the property include outdoor and indoor study areas, retail space and a rooftop courtyard. “We were able to commit 35 percent of the overall area to open space,” says Benjamin Kasdan, principal at KTGY Architecture + Planning, which designed the community. “This is desirable not only during the COVID period, but beyond. The project includes many trends and features we expect to see in the future based on input from students and housing developers.”
LEDGEWOOD, N.J. — New Jersey-based Woodmont Properties has completed the lease-up of Woodmont Parc at Roxbury, a 230-unit apartment community in Ledgewood, about 45 miles west of New York City. Units feature quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and private balconies/patios. Amenities include a heated pool, fitness center, resident lounge, game room and a theater room. Leasing began in July 2019, and the property has now reached 100 percent occupancy.
AUBURN, MAINE — Boston-based mortgage banking firm Fantini & Gorga has arranged a $7.5 million loan for the refinancing of Auburn Mall Apartments, a 168-unit multifamily asset in Auburn, located north of Portland. The property was built in phases during the 1980s and features one- and two-bedroom units. Derek Coulombe and Ryan Maddaluna of Fantini & Gorga placed the debt on behalf of the undisclosed borrower, a Maine-based developer and investor. An agency lender provided the nonrecourse loan, which carried a sub-3-percent interest rate and a period of interest-only payments.
Strong job and population growth over the last decade have steadily elevated demand for affordable housing throughout Texas, and the incoming Biden administration is likely to enact policies that will help developers expand the supply needed to meet that demand, according to a panel of industry experts. The combination of no state income tax and a pro-business climate has driven scads of major companies to relocate to Texas, in many cases from California. At least before the COVID-19 pandemic, the arrival of these high-paying jobs — and the housing to support them — tended to fuel demand for retail, restaurant and hospitality development. It’s within the operations of these properties that many renters who qualify for affordable or workforce housing make their living. Immigrants from Mexico and Central America further add to demand in Texas. But from an economic standpoint, development of affordable housing is rarely feasible without some sort of aid from the state or federal government (or both). In terms of the latter, some professionals in Texas believe that the incoming Biden administration intends to prioritize affordable housing growth through a variety of mechanisms. Announcing: Texas Affordable Housing Business magazine. Click here for complimentary subscription. A panel of …