Rent an apartment or buy a home? That is the question now posed to many Millennials as they face the facts about the high barriers to homeownership that generations before them, at the same stage of life, could easily overcome. But since the Great Recession and the loose homeownership qualifications that helped spawn it, banks and other home-lending institutions have been under the tight-fisted control of government regulators who have demanded, rightly or wrongly, that prospective homeowners meet strict and often daunting qualifications to buy a house. While that’s bad news for a generation that was raised by families who owned homes and where a home was the primary financial asset for inheritance, it’s good news for multifamily investors, developers and contractors. The demand for apartments has risen to levels eclipsing demand for homeownership in one of the few times in modern history. This is especially true in Orange County where home prices have always been among the highest in the nation. In fact, demand among multifamily investors is so strong that nearly every recent offering for well-located apartment properties has garnered multiple offers, creating a perfect-storm situation for the sellers. One sale that involved an investment portfolio of four …
SALEM, ORE. — CBRE has arranged $72.5 million in financing for the acquisition of The Bonaventure Portfolio, five independent living and assisted living communities throughout the states of Washington and Oregon. NorthStar Healthcare Income, a non-traded REIT, acquired the portfolio, which totals 453 units. Based in Salem, Ore., Bonaventure is a family of companies that develops and operates seniors housing properties in the West. The company operates 24 properties in three states. Aron Will and Matthew Whitlock, both of CBRE National Senior Housing, arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan with 24 months interest-only payments through its Fannie Mae DUS Multifamily loan origination program.
STAMFORD, CONN. — CBRE has secured $51 million in financing for the acquisition of 66 Summer Street, an apartment building located in Stamford. The borrower was KC Summer Street Owner LLC, a joint venture between The Kabr Group and Ceruzzi Properties. Freddie Mac provided the eight-year, fixed-rate loan with full funding based on pro forma, as the property is still in its lease-up period. The newly constructed property features 209 luxury apartment units. Mark Fisher, Jason Gaccione, Alex Furnay, Irene Lu and Michael Ricco of CBRE facilitated the loan for the borrower, while CBRE Capital Market’s Investment Sales team represented the seller in the deal.
Eastern Union Funding Arranges $35.9M in Refinancing for Three Multifamily Properties in Connecticut
WINDSOR, NEWINGTON AND BLOOMFIELD, CONN. — Eastern Union Funding has arranged three loans totaling $35.9 million to refinance three multifamily properties in Connecticut. The borrower was a New York-based private investment firm. Totaling 369 units, the properties are Williamsburg Apartments, 250 Bloomfield Ave. in Windsor; Northwood Apartments, 215 Lowrey Place in Newington; and Manor House Apartments, 14-2 Revere Drive in Bloomfield. Customers Bank provided the financing.
NEW YORK CITY — New York Residence Inc. has brokered the purchase of a multifamily and retail building located at 165-167 Williams St. in downtown Manhattan. A private European equity fund acquired the 31,000-square-foot property from an investor group led by Eli Tabak of Bluestone Group for an undisclosed price. Originally built in 1907 as an office building, the 10-story building features ground-floor retail space, leased to Downtown Pharmacy, and 12 apartments on the upper floors. Thomas Guss and Saul Lalic of New York Residence Inc. represented the buyer, while Victor Sozio and Jesse Greshin of Ariel Property Advisors represented the seller in the transaction.
PAYSON, ARIZ. — MidCap Financial has arranged a $4.5 million bridge-to-HUD loan to refinance Compass Senior Living’s Majestic Rim Retirement Living, located in the Phoenix suburb of Payson. Majestic Rim is a 50-unit independent living facility built in 2006. Compass purchased the property in 2014 as an underperforming asset. MidCap’s bridge loan will refinance existing debt on the property.
NEW YORK CITY — Rosewood Realty Group has arranged the sale of a portfolio of four contiguous multifamily buildings in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. 242-248 Bainbridge Partners acquired the portfolio from 242-248 Bainbridge Residences LLC for $10.2 million. Totaling 29,200 square feet, the properties offer 32 apartments, including 18 rent-stabilized units and 14 market-rate units. Michael Guttman of Rosewood represented the buyer and seller in the deal.
ROCHESTER, MINN. — Welsh Construction has completed construction of the Lofts at Mayo Park in Rochester in southern Minnesota. The apartment property is located within the Destination Medical Center Development District between 107 and 121 Sixth Ave. Southeast. Helen and Chris Roland, trustees of the George F. Pougiales Trust, are developing the four-story project. Welsh Construction worked with the duo to execute their vision for the residential development near Mayo Clinic. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The development features 29 units and was designed by Minneapolis-based Snow Kreilich Architects.
LAKE WORTH, FLA. — Big Rock Partners has opened a welcome center and begun pre-leasing for Atria at Villages of Windsor, a $105 million independent living, assisted living and memory care community situated on a 22.5-acre site in the Palm Beach County city of Lake Worth. The community’s 186 units of independent living are scheduled to open this summer, followed by 80 assisted living units and 54 memory care units in the fall. Atria Senior Living will operate the community once completed. Gensler designed the property, while Moss & Associates served as construction manager. Walker & Dunlop arranged a $68.2 million construction loan for the project last year.
COLUMBIA, S.C. AND GREENSBORO, N.C. — ARA Newmark has arranged two sales of student housing assets near the University of South Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The sales totaled more than $50 million. In the first transaction, Pittsburgh-based Campus First Student Living purchased The Club at Carolina Stadium in Columbia from Aspen Square Management for $30.5 million. Situated directly across from Carolina Stadium, the 240-unit, 486-bed asset was fully occupied at the time of sale. In the second deal, Shanghai-based private equity fund OC Ventures and operating partner SkyeCroft Realty purchased Sterling Cottages at West End in Greensboro from Houston-based The Dinerstein Cos. for an undisclosed price. Built in 2011, the 176-unit, 600-bed asset was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale. Ryan Lang of ARA Newmark’s Student Housing group in Austin, Texas, represented the sellers in both transactions.