HOWE, TEXAS — Dougherty Mortgage LLC has arranged an undisclosed amount of Fannie Mae financing for the acquisition of Westwood Manor Apartments, a 100-unit multifamily community in Howe, located north of Dallas near the Oklahoma border. The loan, which carried a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule, was arranged through a partnership with Old Capital Lending for the borrower, Westwood Manor Apartments LLC.
DALLAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Vernazza, a 100-unit apartment community in Dallas. Al Silva and Ford Braly of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a locally based private investor, in the transaction. The Dallas-based buyer plans to upgrade the property’s unit interiors and exteriors.
NEW YORK CITY — Greystone has arranged a $50 million bridge loan for the refinancing of House No. 94, a recently constructed 75-unit multifamily building in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. An affiliate of Ares Management LLC provided the five-year, variable-rate loan to the borrower, an affiliate of Hudson Cos. Inc. Completed in 2018, the property offers mixed-income housing, ground-floor retail space and amenities including a 12,000-square-foot courtyard, tenant lounge and fitness center.
YUMA, ARIZ. — Lancaster Pollard Mortgage Co.’s affiliate OREC Structured Finance Co. has arranged a $12.7 million bridge loan for River Valley Estates, a seniors housing community in Yuma. The borrower is Mission Senior Living. The community features 56 assisted living units and 32 memory care beds. The transaction refinances the existing debt on the facility and provides equity at initial closing with an earn-out to allow the client to extract additional cash upon achievement of performance metrics. The lender was not disclosed. Rob McAdams led the transaction for Lancaster Pollard.
WILMINGTON, DEL. — Evergreen Apartment Group Inc. has acquired River Commons Apartments, a 116-unit multifamily property in Wilmington, located approximately 25 miles southwest of Philadelphia. River Commons, which was redeveloped in 2004, offers two- and three-bedroom apartments with a community clubhouse. Andrew Townsend of Marcus & Millichap represented Evergreen in the transaction, the seller in which was not disclosed. Key Bank Real Estate Capital provided a Fannie Mae acquisition loan, and AMA Financial was the mortgage broker.
FITCHBURG, WIS. — JLL has brokered the $47.5 million sale of The Vue at Pinnacle Park in Fitchburg, a suburb of Madison. The 285-unit, Class A apartment property is located at 1300 Post Road. Built in 2014, the 9.8-acre property comprises five three-story buildings. Units average 976 square feet. Amenities include a pool, grilling area, fitness center, clubroom and pet washing stations. The property was 97 percent leased at the time of sale. Wick Kirby, Marty O’Connell, Kevin Girard and Amanda Friant of JLL represented the seller, Milwaukee-based Fiduciary Real Estate Development Inc. JLL also procured the buyer, Weidner Apartment Homes.
CHICAGO — OC Ventures has acquired Automatic Lofts, a 482-bed student housing community located adjacent to the University of Illinois at Chicago campus. The property — originally built as a telephone factory in 1901 — offers one-, three- and four-bedroom, loft-style units. Shared amenities include a fitness center, study lounges on each floor, a café, recreation room and laundry services. The new ownership plans to implement capital improvements such as building out a larger fitness center, renovating lobby and study areas and updating apartment furniture. Varsity Campus will manage the community. The seller and terms of the transaction were undisclosed.
WYOMING, MICH. — Magnus Capital Partners is transforming the former Studio 28 movie theater on 28th Street in Wyoming near Grand Rapids into a $35 million, 226-unit affordable housing project known as HOM Flats at 28 West. Magnus purchased the seven-acre, vacant property in October and has since started site development work. Preleasing is expected to begin in winter 2020 with occupancy commencing in summer 2020. Six buildings will be constructed along with 320 surface parking spots. Amenities will include a community room, coffee shop, bike storage, dog washing stations, playground and walking paths. The project team includes Rohde Construction, Hooker DeJong Architects, Exxel Engineering and American Preferred Management. Magnus is a private development firm with experience in workforce housing. Its founder Vishal Arora is from Zeeland, a suburb of Grand Rapids. Joining Magnus as an investor in the project is InSite Capital, a division of Chemical Bank. In addition, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority has awarded the project with low-income housing tax credits.
MUNCIE, IND. — Strawberry Fields REIT LLC has purchased The Waters of Muncie, a 72-bed skilled nursing facility in Muncie, for $3.1 million. The property is located at 2400 Chateau Drive. Services at the property include comprehensive medical, memory care and rehabilitative therapy. The facility serves both short- and long-term residents. With this acquisition, Strawberry Fields owns more than 70 nursing homes across the country.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — More and more renters are looking for apartments that feature high levels of technology, according to the 2020 Apartment Resident Preferences Report released by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and research firm Kingsley Associates. The NMHC is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization serving the multifamily industry. The report was compiled through survey responses from nearly 373,000 renters living in 5,336 different apartment communities throughout more than 270 U.S. markets. It was the largest number of responses in the report’s eight-year history, according to the NMHC. On the technology front, 91.2 percent of respondents said reliable cell phone reception is important, and 44 percent won’t rent at a property without it. Even more — 91.7 percent — noted the need for high-speed internet, with nearly 70 percent even saying that Wi-Fi throughout the community (not just in apartments) is important. This reliance on the web is because of residents’ use of multiple internet-connected devices. Over 98 percent of respondents use at least one internet-connected device, and over 40 percent possess five or more. Renters also expressed high levels of interest in smart-home technology like smart thermostats (70.5 percent), smart lighting (66.9 percent) and smart locks (63 percent). However, …