FORT BELVOIR, VA. — The Fairfax, a military retirement community in Fort Belvoir owned and operated by Sunrise Senior Living, has become the first seniors housing community to receive wildlife sanctuary certification from the Audubon Society. Beginning in 2012, The Fairfax resident and retired Navy officer James Harkin began working with the Audubon at Home program of the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia to encourage more birds, butterflies and other wildlife to visit the community’s campus, which includes a seven-acre lake and numerous nature trails. Sunrise team members and several other residents planted native plants, reduced pesticide and fertilizer use and removed invasive species. Residents and employees observed 10 “sanctuary species” using the property for building nests, feeding and foraging, and raising young, qualifying the property as a sanctuary. More than 40 species of birds and butterflies have found a home at The Fairfax Wildlife Sanctuary.
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Dominium has secured provisional approval to rehabilitate the historic Fort Snelling Upper post in St. Paul. The approximately $100 million project will be financed through a combination of low-income housing tax credits as well as federal and state historic tax credits, among other sources. The final product will add a projected 190 affordable housing units. The project is in response to strong demand for more affordable housing in the market. Research from Dominium shows Hennepin and Ramsey counties have only 34 apartments affordable and available for every 100 residents making less than $20,000 a year. Located near the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the Upper Post of Fort Snelling was a major hub for military activity throughout the late 19th century and much of the early 20th century. It served as an induction and training center during both world wars. The site, which was designated a national historic landmark in 1960, was turned over to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 1971. Dominium recently completed the rehabilitation of St. Paul’s Schmidt Brewery on West 7th St. Dominium also is in the process of completing the $175 million renovation of the Minneapolis Pillsbury A-Mill, a national historic landmark, …
CHICAGO — Essex Reality Group has brokered the sale of 1725-1733 S. Ruble St. in Chicago to an undisclosed buyer. The purchase price was $925,000. The property consists of two newly constructed walk-up apartment buildings adjacent to one another that contain a total of four luxury duplex apartments, four garage parking spaces and 3,572 square feet of developable land. The property is situated in close proximity to the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Halsted Street Metra Station, as well as I-90/I-94. Jason Fishleder of Essex Reality Group’s Chicago office was the broker for the transaction. Essex Realty Group, Inc. specializes in the sale of investment real estate throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
NEW YORK CITY — Stellar Management and CAMBA Housing Ventures has acquired Castleton Park, an affordable multifamily property located in St. George on Staten Island for an undisclosed sum. With the backing of NYC Housing Development Corp. tax-exempt bonds, the owner plans to launch a $30 million renovation and rehabilitation project for the 40-year-old development, which features 454 apartment units. In collaboration with the NYC Housing Development Corp., NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the development team will be able to maintain long-term affordability for tenants at the property. Construction work is scheduled to begin in August and includes the rehabilitation of the building façade, parking area, elevators and mechanicals, as well as renovations to common areas and each unit’s bathroom and kitchen. The renovation is scheduled to last two years.
SAN ANTONIO — Old Capital has provided a five-year loan with a fixed interest rate, a 25-year amortization schedule and one year of interest-only payments for French Chalet Apartments in San Antonio. Local buyers acquired the value-add asset. Using loan proceeds, the new owners will perform exterior and interior renovations to increase the value of the property.
DUNCANVILLE, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Fairmeadows Apartments, a 200-unit apartment property situated on 11.7 acres in Duncanville. John Barker of Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership. Barker also secured the buyer, a partnership that assumed an existing Fannie Mae loan. Fairmeadows Apartments is located at 800 Merrill Road in Duncanville, a city situated within Dallas County nine miles from downtown Dallas. The construction includes a concrete slab foundation, wood framing, brick with vinyl siding exterior and pitched composition roofs. On-site amenities include laundry facilities, a swimming pool and a playground area.
PORTLAND, ORE. — TruAmerica and its institutional partners DVO Real Estate and RCG Longview have acquired a five-property portfolio in the Pacific Northwest known as FPA Multifamily for $115 million. The transaction includes the 76-unit Lighthouse and the 177-unit Village at Lake Meridian in Kent, Wash., as well as the 210-unit Park at Tualatin in the Portland suburb of Tualatin. TruAmerica closed on the 126-unit Haven at Charbonneau in Wilsonville, Ore., and the 329-unit Somerset apartments in Kent this past June. The company plans to invest $8 million in interior-unit and common-area improvements throughout the portfolio. Renovations will include new kitchen appliances, cabinets, countertops, lighting and hardware. Common-area upgrades will enhance the renter experience with scenic landscaping, fresh pool furniture, a dog park and an outdoor kitchen. Noah Hochman led TruAmerica’s acquisition team.
IRVINE, CALIF. — Real estate investment company WNC has closed WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund X California Series 13 LP, a $75 million institutional, low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) fund. The fund, which includes seven investors, will acquire nine properties in California. Composed of family and senior housing properties, the fund includes 978 units of affordable housing in both suburban and urban parts of the state, including Casa de Seniors in San Clemente, a 72-unit seniors housing rehabilitation project. This is the company’s second largest equity raise, thus far. WNC, which is based in Irvine, has closed a total of 18 California funds that have acquired more than 250 properties in 46 counties.
San Antonio, despite being the second largest city in Texas by population, sometimes takes a back seat to the Lone Star State’s other booming metro areas. The city might not have the energy of Houston, the weirdness of Austin or the Cowboys of Dallas, but more than 1.4 million people call the Alamo City home, and businesses are starting to take notice. San Antonio has added more than 300,000 residents since 2000, and a reasonable cost of living makes it an attractive city for workers young and old. The city continues to experience strong corporate growth and increased tourism activity, which is bringing more jobs to the city. San Antonio’s unemployment rate of 3.8 percent sits well below the national rate of 5.5 percent, and is also below Texas’ unemployment rate of 4.2 percent. Texas is the home of oil, and recent price uncertainty has made some investors worry about the state’s big cities. But there’s no worry in San Antonio: While new oil and gas production from the Eagle Ford Shale south of the city is expanding and having a positive impact on the region, the presence of energy-related businesses in San Antonio represents only one sector of the …
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — Colliers International has arranged and closed joint venture equity and construction financing for the development of State Street Lofts in New Haven. Working on behalf of the developer, Post Road Residential Inc., Colliers secured $43 million in construction financing from PNC Bank, as well as joint venture equity capital from an affiliate of The Carlyle Group. Slated for completion in 2016, State Street Lofts will include 235 apartments, 275 parking spaces in an attached garage, 10,000 square feet of amenity space and 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. On-site amenities include a fitness center with yoga studio, resident lounge spaces with high-speed Wi-Fi, a library, a resort-style pool with enclosed courtyard, a 7,000-square-foot roof deck, a dog wash station and a bike maintenance room with storage for 240 bikes. Jeff Black and Kevin Phelan led the Colliers team that represented Post Road Residential Inc.