CHICAGO — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $70.5 million in financing for the acquisition and renovation of 19 off-campus housing properties and two land parcels near the University of Chicago in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Meridian arranged the financing for the buyer, Pioneer Acquisitions. The seller, the University of Chicago, acquired the properties over many decades and has operated this portfolio solely as student and faculty housing. The rental units are located in 19 non-contiguous multifamily properties on Hyde Park Boulevard, Dorchester Avenue, Kenwood Avenue, Blackstone Avenue and Woodlawn Avenue. While the recent revitalization and heavy new commercial development within Hyde Park have created strong demand for market rate housing in this submarket, the intent of Pioneer Acquisitions is to continue catering to students and faculty. A national debt fund provided the three-year, interest-only loans that include future funding for improvements, floating rates with weighted average spreads in the high 300s in basis points over the 30-day LIBOR rate, and two one-year extension options. The renovations, which are expected to begin immediately, will include upgrades to kitchens, bathrooms and common areas at all properties. Seth Grossman and Andy Strauss of the Carlsbad, Calif., office of Meridian Capital negotiated the …
ALLENTOWN, PA. — The Waterfront Development Co. has broken ground for a $400 million mixed-use development along the western banks of the Lehigh River in Allentown. Spanning 26 acres, the project will include six office buildings, including the 157,498-square-foot 615 Waterfront Drive and the 131,457-square-foot 645 Waterfront Drive; three residential complexes, totaling 425 market-rate apartments; three parking structures; a main street and half-mile River Walk. Additionally, each of the 12 new buildings will offer retail and restaurant space. The development company comprises Jaindl Properties LLC, Dunn Twiggar Company LLC and Michael Dunn Co. LTD. Site-wide infrastructure is slated to take approximately 18 months, though building construction will be phased in and begin at any time during that timeframe. The project is expected to take approximately eight years for full build-out.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — First Niagara Financial Group Inc. has provided a $6.4 million construction loan to Conifer Realty LLC for the development of Market Apartments at Corpus Christi. Located on East Main Street in Rochester’s Market neighborhood, the affordable housing development, which is tailored for local artists, will feature 42 energy-efficient apartments, including one- and two-bedroom units; art studio and work space; and plans to add a rehearsal space for musicians in a neighboring building. Additionally, the property is located within walking distance to public transportation and retailers. Conifer-LeChase Construction, a partnership between Conifer and LeChase Construction Services, is serving as general contractor for the project.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a mixed-use property located at 1481 York Ave. on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The five-story building sold for $7.3 million, or $980 per square foot, in an all-cash transaction. The 7,500-square-foot property features one commercial unit and eight apartments, of which five are free market and three are rent stabilized. The five free-market units were delivered vacant. The property also offers 11,250 square feet of unused air rights. Thomas Gammino Jr. and Brett Weisblum of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the transaction. The names of the buyer and seller were not released.
TOWSON, MD. — Klein Enterprises has broken ground on Southerly Square Apartments, a 175-unit multifamily community in Towson, roughly 10 miles north of Baltimore. The property is located on Southerly Road close to the Baltimore Beltway and adjacent to Goucher College. The apartment community will feature an integrated five-story, 361-space parking garage. Community amenities will include a private courtyard with a swimming pool, fire pit, bocce ball court, fitness center, game room with billiards, theater room, café and a rooftop balcony. Units will feature stainless steel appliances, full-sized washer and dryer units, walk-in closets, high-speed internet access, high ceilings and a patio or balcony. Columbia National Real Estate Finance LLC is providing construction financing for the project. Klein Enterprises is developing Southerly Square with Taylor Property Group. Klein expects to deliver the apartment community by spring 2017.
GARLAND, KATY AND BEAUMONT, TEXAS — BMC Capital has provided loans in the Texas cities of Garland, Katy and Beaumont totaling $8.2 million. In the first transaction, Tony Talamas of BMC Capital’s Houston office arranged a $1.7 million loan for the purchase of a 50-unit, garden-style multifamily property built in 1959 in Garland. The loan featured a 20-year term with 4.2 percent interest for five years, a 30-year amortization schedule and a step-down pre-payment premium. The non-recourse loan also featured one year of interest-only payments while the new owner makes upgrades and implements repairs/renovations to the property. The loan was arranged through one of BMC Capital’s correspondent agency relationships under the Freddie Mac Small Balance program. In the second transaction, Talamas arranged $4.5 million loan for the refinancing of an unanchored, multi-tenant retail strip center in Katy. The property was 57 percent occupied and 70 percent leased at the time of application. Talamas arranged a permanent loan with one of BMC Capital’s correspondent credit union relationships. The loan featured a five-year, fixed-rate term with 4.8 percent interest, 25-year amortization schedule and no pre-payment penalty. In the third transaction, Talamas arranged a $2 million loan for the purchase of a multifamily property …
ATLANTA — Pillar, an affiliate of Guggenheim Partners, has originated a $7.5 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinance of The Roosevelt, a 120-unit multifamily building located in Atlanta’s Grant Park historic district. Gabe Seghi of Pillar’s Boca Raton, Fla., office originated the fixed-rate, 10-year loan with a 30-year amortization schedule on behalf of the borrower, a regional multifamily owner/operator. Pillar is a national Fannie Mae DUS lender.
CHICAGO — Sedgwick Properties has broken ground on a 30-unit luxury apartment building in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. The five-story building, located at 1545 W. North Ave., is slated for completion in spring 2016. The apartment building will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units that will range from $1,900 to $4,000. Unit amenities include custom cabinetry, quartz countertops, tile backsplashes, washers and dryers and private balconies. Community amenities include valet dry cleaning service, bicycle storage and gated parking. The development will also include 2,600 square feet of retail space. The building will be located two blocks from the Kennedy Expressway and will be a short walk to the Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue Line. Sedgwick Properties will serve as the architect, designer, developer and general contractor for the project.
Operating as our state’s political core and as the “live music capital of the world”, Austin’s real estate market is as distinctive as the people that make this city great. Austin is a one-of-a-kind place that’s unique to Texas and the entire country. It defies stereotypes with its progressive and fiercely entrepreneurial spirit, and continually gets top marks for its quality of life, pro-business culture and pro-environment views. WalletHub recently ranked Austin as the 2015 best large city to live in and the data matches up — the city ranks second among 2015’s fastest-growing cities in the U.S., according to Forbes, behind Houston and ahead of Dallas-Fort Worth. In the era of ‘Walker, Texas Ranger,’ Emmitt Smith and ‘the Dream Team,’ and the release of ‘Dazed and Confused,’ the tech boom of the 1990s drove the Austin office market. During that same time, Austin’s total population increased 35 percent and close to 1,750 companies employed over 110,000 people in technology-related jobs in Austin. By the end of the 90s, Texas’ capital city was widely known as Silicon Hills, home to a critical mass of institutional technology knowledge and major tenants like Dell, IBM, Motorola and other software and gaming companies. …
SAN FRANCISCO — The Grove has signed a lease for 3,650 square feet of space at One Henry Adams, an apartment community located on Townsend Circle in Showplace Square in San Francisco. One Henry Adams and the new restaurant location are slated to open in the fourth quarter of 2016. Owned by Equity Residential, the 241-unit apartment community offers 8,600 square feet of retail space.