MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — Atlanta-based developer Wood Partners has broken ground on Alta French Hill, a 276-unit apartment complex that will be located in the western Boston suburb of Marlborough. Units will come in one, two- and three-bedroom floor plans and will be furnished with stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, wood-style flooring and individual washers and dryers. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, dog park, resident lounge and outdoor grilling and dining areas. Alta French Hill will also house 10,000 square feet of retail space. Preleasing will begin in 2024, with the first move-ins scheduled to begin in February 2025.
BELLEVILLE, N.J. — Locally based brokerage firm The Kislak Co. Inc. has negotiated the $11.8 million sale of Brighton Estates, a 95-unit multifamily property located in the Northern New Jersey community of Belleville. Built in 1962 and recently renovated, Brighton Estates consists of three two-story buildings that house 13 studios, 66 one-bedroom units and 16 two-bedroom apartments. Tom Scatuorchio of Kislak represented the seller in the transaction. Andrew Scheinerman of Kislak procured the buyer. Both parties requested anonymity.
LITTLE CANADA, MINN. — Colliers Mortgage has provided a $26.7 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of Montreal Courts Apartments in Little Canada, a northern suburb of St. Paul. The 444-unit multifamily property features a pool, fitness center, community room, playground and laundry facilities. Tony Carlson and Ben Fazendin of Colliers Mortgage originated the 10-year loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
Following the financial markets crash 15 years ago, banks and other lenders began working with commercial real estate (CRE) borrowers who had run into trouble. Solutions included loan extensions, loan sales, recapitalizations and foreclosures. Today lenders are pulling out the playbook again. “We have seen a huge number of loan workout deals come across our desk,” says Jeff Salladin, a managing director with Dallas-based private debt fund Revere Capital. “Any lender that holds loans on their books is seeing the same thing.” Back in 2008, dodgy and highly leveraged residential and CRE loans — along with the emergence of exceedingly risky debt derivatives created by Wall Street — eventually crashed, causing the credit market to collapse. Today credit is still available, but the cost of it has spiked over the last 18 months. Consequently, many commercial properties owners have seen values plummet, making it difficult to find refinancing. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s (FDIC) imminent auction of Signature Bank’s $33 billion in commercial property loans and other assets is expected to attract bids as much as 40 percent below face value, according to The Wall Street Journal. That’s just the latest gloomy bellwether regarding CRE values and underscores the predicament …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hunt Capital Partners has provided $16.5 million in federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity for the development of Cady Lofts, a 100-unit affordable housing project in Austin. Cady Lofts will house studio apartments for renters earning 30 to 60 percent of the area median income and who are experiencing homelessness or physical/developmental disabilities. Units will feature modern appliances and eco-friendly utility systems, and residents will have access to a communal computer lab, health and wellness center, case management offices and central laundry facilities. The borrower is a partnership between developer SGI Ventures and the Housing Authority of the City of Austin. Three Bar Architects Inc. is designing the project, with Skybeck Construction serving as the primary contractor. Completion is slated for March 2025.
SAGINAW, TEXAS — Dallas-based developer Journey Capital has broken ground on the third phase of development at Edition of Saginaw Senior Living, located just north of Fort Worth. The project will add 36 independent living cottages to the property. Journey Capital unveiled Phase I of the Edition of Saginaw Senior Living community in January 2022, featuring 22 independent living cottages. Phase II, which is currently under construction, will add a 71-bed assisted living and memory care facility by the end of this year.
FALLS CHURCH, VA. — Hoffman & Associates and Experience Senior Living (ESL) plan to co-develop The Reserve at Falls Church, a 15-story seniors housing project within the 10-acre West Falls mixed-use development underway in Northern Virginia. The Reserve will feature more than 200 units of independent living, assisted living and memory care residences. Amenities will include a spa with a saltwater pool and fitness center, multiple onsite restaurants, a sky bar, maker space, concierge floors and electric vehicle transportation services. Aside from the seniors housing component, West Falls will feature apartments, condominiums, shops, restaurants, service retailers, a hotel and a medical office building, along with a central 18,000-square-foot outdoor community gathering space. Hoffman and ESL aim to open The Reserve in fourth-quarter 2026.
NEWVILLE, PA. — Northmarq has negotiated the sale of Big Spring Terrace, a 159-unit manufactured housing community in Newville, about 140 miles west of Philadelphia. The property was originally constructed on a 94-acre site in 1975 and was roughly 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. Anthony Pino and Ari Azarbarzin of Northmarq represented the seller, Pennsylvania-based Big Springs Properties, in the transaction. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed.
UPPER DARBY, PA. — Dwight City Group, the investment arm of New York City-based lender Dwight Capital, has completed a multifamily adaptive reuse project in Upper Darby, a western suburb of Philadelphia. The project converted a 125,000-square-foot warehouse at 901 Quarry St. that was constructed in 1925 and had been dormant for three decades into an 84-unit apartment complex. The complex now features one- and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a playground and dog park. Rents start at roughly $1,500 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.
DES PLAINES, ILL. — JVM Realty Corp. has purchased Ellison Apartments in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines for an undisclosed price. The 113-unit luxury apartment complex, built in 2019, features a variety of floor plans averaging 894 square feet. Amenities include a spa pool, sundeck, clubroom, business center, fitness center, pet spa, bike room and indoor garage parking. John Jaeger of CBRE brokered the deal, which marks the ninth Illinois property in JVM’s portfolio. The seller was undisclosed.