BOSTON — Nonprofit owner-operator Beacon Communities has completed a 210-unit affordable housing redevelopment project in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. The project converted a historic YWCA building that was originally constructed in 1929 into a residential complex for low-income renters and formerly homeless individuals. The property at 140 Clarendon St. now features studio and one-bedroom units and amenities such as a fitness center, community room, library, computer learning center and a wellness office. The redevelopment preserved the spaces of Lyric Stage Co., the Snowden School and other nonprofits currently residing in the building.
BOSTON — Maryland-based owner-operator Bozzuto has begun leasing Alder, a 165-unit apartment complex located within the Allston Yards mixed-use development in Boston. Alder offers studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, with 21 units reserved as affordable housing. Amenities include a fitness center, game room, pet spa, concierge service, outdoor deck, library and a package room. A 52,000-square-foot Stop & Shop grocery store will also open in Alder’s ground floor this summer. Rents start at $2,900 per month for a studio apartment.
SAN DIEGO — Lee & Associates has arranged the sale of 5052 Wightman Street, an apartment building in San Diego. The asset traded for $7.1 million. Built in 1963, the building features 44 apartments. The property was held by the same owners for multiple decades, but had deferred maintenance issues. The community features an affordable component for residents earning 50 to 60 percent of the area median income. Eric von Bluecher and Ivan Del Muro-Garcia of The Von Bluecher Group — the multifamily brokerage team of Lee & Associates North San Diego County — represented the undisclosed buyer and undisclosed seller in the deal.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Habitat has begun pre-leasing efforts for Cassidy on Canal, a 33-story luxury apartment tower in Chicago’s Fulton River District. The property at 350 N. Canal St. features 343 units in a variety of layouts ranging from studios to penthouses. Additional features of the project include 1,313 square feet of ground-floor retail space, parking for 123 vehicles and an outdoor dog run just northwest of the building. Amenities include a 10,000-square-foot outdoor deck off the building’s fifth floor with landscaped grounds, a pool, lounge seating, fire pits, grilling areas, heaters and dining areas. Inside, residents will have access to a fitness center with practice studios, a game room, clubrooms, a coworking center and a spa with sauna, steam and whirlpool rooms. The first resident move-ins are expected in May. Rents will range from $2,550 to $5,660 per month. Penthouse units will go for up to $10,810 per month. The project site was formerly home to the Cassidy Tire building. Architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz designed the new glass tower. The joint venture partner on the project is Diversified Real Estate Capital LLC, with James McHugh Construction Co. serving as general contractor.
CLEVELAND — Cleveland-based BWE has arranged $150 million in financing through a Freddie Mac transitional line of credit (TLOC) for a collection of over 2,500 manufactured housing community sites in the Midwest, Southeast and Rocky Mountain regions. MJ Vukovich, Ghazy Grijalva and Andrew Capra of BWE arranged the TLOC through Freddie Mac’s Optigo channel on behalf of a long-term client. The team also sourced a $14 million traditional bank loan for the borrower from a lender specializing in manufactured housing. The TLOC provides a convenient solution for manufactured housing communities that require more repairs and renovations before securing permanent financing terms or more flexibility in their hold period, according to BWE. By only initially using $100 million of the $150 million TLOC, the borrower has the ability to shape its portfolio more thoroughly by adding new properties in the future. BWE structured the TLOC as a floating-rate loan with interest-only payments for the full term. Additionally, the terms included interest rate caps to hedge against the risk of increasing rates, while also positioning the client to take advantage of a declining rate environment later this year and provide flexibility for asset exit.
ALBANY, N.Y. — KeyBank has provided an $11.1 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Astro Apartments, a student housing complex located across the street from the primary campus of State University of New York in Albany. Built in 1998, Astro Apartments consists of two three-story buildings on a 2.4-acre site. According to Apartments.com, the property totals 100 units and offers amenities such as a fitness center, business center, package handling service and onsite laundry facilities. Residences come in studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Dirk Falardeau and Mark Flanders of KeyBank structured the financing on behalf of the borrower, Redburn Development Partners.
By Matt Valley DALLAS — The success or failure of an active adult community hinges on whether the operator can deliver on its valuation proposition, and tenants are willing to pay a premium if their lifestyle expectations are met. That’s one of the key takeaways from an active adult panel discussion that took place March 6 during the 2024 NIC Spring Conference at the Omni Dallas Hotel. Prospective tenants in this real estate niche are experienced, sophisticated consumers who know when they are being sold a bill of goods. They know if leasing people aren’t being sincere, said Robert May, managing director of Avenida Partners, a national real estate development firm with offices in Newport Beach, California, and Nashville, Tennessee. “They come to our communities for the first time knowing a whole lot more about us than we do about them because of the internet, because of social media, because of that senior network that’s out there,” explained May. “The brand is everything. It’s what they see, it’s what they hear, and they’ve got to feel it. They’ve got to feel that you’re really there to deliver that value proposition, that lifestyle that they are looking for.” For traditional multifamily …
ALBANY, N.Y. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided a $14.2 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of 930 on Broadway, an 81-unit workforce housing community in Albany. The four-story building sits on a 1.5-acre site and houses one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as 12,155 square feet of commercial space. Half the residences are reserved for households earning 80 percent or less of the area median income. Dirk Falardeau and Mark Flanders of KeyBank arranged the debt on behalf of the borrower, Redburn Development Partners.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Locally based developer Garden Communities has begun leasing 147 Columbia, a 126-unit apartment complex in the Northern New Jersey community of Florham Park. The site formerly housed an office building, and the redevelopment began last year. Units come in one- and two-bedroom floor plans and range in size from 861 to 1,535 square feet. Residences are furnished with stainless steel appliances, custom cabinetry and individual washers and dryers. Rents start at $2,600 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.
MICHIGAN CITY, IND. — Flaherty & Collins Properties is scheduled to break ground on The Franklin at 11th Street Station, a $101 million apartment project in northern Indiana’s Michigan City. A groundbreaking ceremony will take place Thursday, March 14. The luxury apartment tower will include 220 units and 5,600 square feet of commercial space. The 1.5-acre project site is located at 1010 Franklin St. Amenities will include a heated swim spa, outdoor movie space, coworking cafe, conference facilities, fitness center and sky lounge. Completion is slated for fall 2025. Flaherty & Collins currently manages 85 properties and more than 15,000 units in nine states.