SHERMAN, TEXAS — GREA, a multifamily brokerage firm with a dozen offices around the country, has negotiated the sale of Hilltop Village, a 248-unit affordable housing property in the North Texas city of Sherman. According to Apartments.com, Hilltop Village was built in 1969 and offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Residences are reserved for households earning 80 percent or less of the area median income. Amenities include a playground, volleyball court and outdoor grilling and dining stations. Mark Allen led the GREA team that brokered the deal. The seller was not disclosed. The buyer, Brazos Residential, plans to invest about $11 million in capital improvements to the property.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Cortland has commenced construction of Cortland Peterson, an apartment community located near Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs. The initial phase of the 294-unit project is slated for completion in summer 2025, with the final phase scheduled for delivery in summer 2026. Consisting of two-, three- and four-story buildings, the community will offer a mix of living options for residents. Units will feature granite countertops and matte black fixtures in the kitchens and bathrooms, smart locks, Nest thermostats and hardwood flooring. Community amenities will include a large courtyard with a pool, cabanas, a hot tub, an outdoor grill and kitchen, a fire pit, fitness center and a leash-free dog park. Additionally, Cortland Peterson will offer a fourth-story sky lounge with a bar and views of Pikes Peak. The project is a joint venture with Promus Realty Properties, Iviron Capital Partners and BMO Bank.
KINGWOOD, TEXAS — High Street Residential has broken ground on Reserve at West Lake, a 181-unit multifamily project located on the northern outskirts of Houston in Kingwood. High Street Residential is developing the project, which consists of 109 townhomes and 72 apartments and is the second phase of a larger development, in partnership with Japanese homebuilder Daiwa House Group. Residences will come in one-, two- and three-bedroom formats. Apartments will have an average size of 1,046 square feet, and townhomes will have an average size of 1,530 square feet. Amenities will include a pool, grilling areas, fitness center, resident lounge and an entertainment kitchen. W Partnership is the project architect, and Arch-Con Corp. is the general contractor. Delivery is slated for next summer.
LIBERTY HILL, TEXAS — Greysteel has arranged the sale of a 15-acre multifamily development site in Liberty Hill, about 40 miles north of Austin, that is approved for the construction of 345 units. The project, a construction timeline for which is still being finalized, will include a workforce housing component. J.R. Ellis of Greysteel brokered the deal. The buyer was a Dallas-based private investment group, and the seller was not disclosed.
PORTLAND, ORE. — A public-private partnership between USA Properties Fund, Northwest Housing Alternatives and Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has opened The Canopy Apartments at Powell, a multifamily property at 12475 S.E. Powell Blvd. in Portland. Situated 12 miles east of downtown Portland, The Canopy Apartments at Powell features 169 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for residents earning less than 60 percent of the area median income. Community amenities include elevators, laundry facilities on each floor, on-site parking, bike room, an after-school program for children, a courtyard with a tot lot, a dog wash and a donation pantry. The $63 million development is the first of two apartment communities in Oregon for USA Properties Fund. The public-private partnership, including $15.2 million from OHCS’ Local Innovation and Fast Track (LIFT) housing program, was critical in paving the way for the project, as well as The Portland Housing Bureau’s waiving of millions of dollars of development fees. Additional project partners included WNC & Associates and JP Morgan Chase as financial partners and WALSH Construction Co. as general contractor.
GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged $5 million in refinancing for Larson Apartments at 8101 Larson Ave. in the Orange County city of Garden Grove. Constructed in 1980, the two-story building features 21 apartments in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. Ron Balys of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. secured the bank financing on behalf of the private client. Terms of the 30-year loan include 65 percent loan-to-value ratio and a 6.3 percent interest rate with a 30-year amortization schedule.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Taconic Partners and National Real Estate Advisors is underway on construction of The Ellery, a 330-unit multifamily project in Midtown Manhattan. Designed by Handel Architects, The Ellery will consist of two interconnected buildings that will rise 32 and seven stories at 312 W. 43rd St. Units will come in studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. The Ellery will feature 28,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenity space, including a rooftop pool, as well as 42,000 square feet of retail space across two floors. The development team most recently completed construction of the façade, but a timeline for full completion was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between Charney Cos. and Criterion Real Estate Capital has acquired 99 Claremont Avenue, a student housing property located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. The seven-story building was originally constructed in 1932. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. Madison Realty Capital provided a $55 million bridge loan for the acquisition, and the new ownership plans to use a portion of the proceeds to renovate the property.
WOOD-RIDGE, N.J. — Locally based brokerage firm Hudson Atlantic has arranged the $3.6 million sale of The Highlander, a 19-unit apartment complex in the Northern New Jersey community of Wood-Ridge. The undisclosed seller originally developed the property, which according to Apatments.com exclusively offers one-bedroom units, in 1977. Adam Zweibel and Dante Fusaro of Hudson Atlantic brokered the deal. The buyer was also not disclosed.
Student housing’s strong occupancy rates and rent growth stand out as a bright spot when compared with the rest of commercial real estate sectors, many of which turned in a lackluster performance over the past year. Student housing rental rates at the nation’s top 175 universities increased an average of nearly 8 percent in the 2022-2023 academic year while occupancy in the fall of 2023 was 150 basis points higher than the average occupancy rate over the five preceding falls, according to Berkadia’s 2023 Student Housing Pipeline Report. Pre-leasing heading into the 2024-2025 academic year surpassed 40 percent in December, according to RealPage, and observers expect effective rents to increase an average of around 10 percent compared to around 9 percent in the 2023-2024 period. Meanwhile, fewer lenders are willing to provide construction financing, which is slowing the development pipeline. Developers could add 48,000 beds in 2024, an increase of 11 percent over 2023, but new supply is projected to decline steeply to 28,190 beds in 2025, Berkadia reports. Those metrics, along with growing enrollment at many top universities, are fueling student housing investment demand. The problem, of course, is that student housing faces the same challenges as other property categories …