PENNSAUKEN, N.J. — Wharton Industrial, a division of New York City-based development and investment firm Wharton Equity Partners, has acquired a 153,400-square-foot portfolio in the Southern New Jersey community of Pennsauken. The portfolio consists of three buildings that are located within the 1.1 million-square-foot Twinbridge Industrial Park and that were 100 percent leased at the time of sale. Tom Palumbo and Bill Sitar of Sitar Realty brokered the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Black Bear Capital Partners (BBCP) has arranged a $22.6 million Fannie Mae loan for the refinancing of two multifamily assets totaling 140 units in The Bronx. Bryan Manz, Emil DePasquale and George Pektor of BBCP arranged the financing, which featured a fixed interest rate of 3.37 percent for 12 years with five years of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule, through PGIM Real Estate. The borrower was Finkelstein Timberger East Real Estate.
FAIRFIELD, N.J. — New Jersey-based investment firm Denholtz Properties has received a loan of an undisclosed amount for the refinancing of a 90,000-square-foot industrial facility in the Northern New Jersey community of Fairfield. The two-building property was built on six acres in 1970 and features a clear height of 19 feet and 20,700 square feet of office space. Jon Mikula, Michael Klein and Gerard Quinn of JLL placed the 10-year, fixed-rate loan through Principal Real Estate Investors on behalf of Denholtz Properties.
WOBURN, MASS. — Horvath & Tremblay, a national brokerage firm based in metro Boston, has negotiated the $11 million sale of a 10,646-square-foot, newly built retail property in the northern Boston suburb of Woburn. Walgreens occupies the property and has 14 years remaining on its lease. Peter Butler and Brendan Conway of Horvath & Tremblay represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which requested anonymity, in the transaction. The deal traded at a cap rate of 5.37 percent.
By Taylor Williams In an era in which land and construction costs are perpetually on the rise, developers of affordable housing must be able to navigate a complex web of federal, state and local programs in order to secure gap financing — the capital that covers the delta between total development costs and those covered by tax credit equity, municipal bonds or other types of subsidies. Understanding and effectively utilizing the various initiatives and incentives — density bonuses, private activity bonds, tax increment reinvestment zones, energy efficiency compliance — is no easy task. Time and manpower aside, this process is further complicated by the fact that state and municipalities have their own laws and regulations when it comes to these programs. But successfully navigating them is key to eliminating development costs not covered by tax credits — the critical piece of financing that lies at the heart of virtually every affordable housing project in Texas. For without these subsidies, the economics of paying market-rate land prices and record-high construction costs to develop housing in which rent levels are capped simply doesn’t work. “As developers that want to build high-quality affordable housing that’s basically indistinguishable from market-rate product, what we need …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Cielo Property Group has acquired the second half of a city block near Frost Bank Tower in downtown Austin with plans to build a 750,000-square-foot office tower. The project represents the first phase of a larger development that could ultimately consist of two adjacent high-rise office buildings totaling 1.6 million square feet. Cielo acquired the 0.8-acre site at the southern end of the block for an undisclosed price following its purchase of the northern end of the block in early 2020. The Austin-based developer is still mulling plans for the north end, which can accommodate up to 886,200 square feet.
WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS — Lee & Associates has arranged the sale of a 458,810-square-foot industrial property located on a 97.1-acre site in Wichita Falls, about 115 miles northwest of Fort Worth. According to LoopNet Inc., the property was built in 1978 and features 21- to 45-foot clear heights and 12 dock-high doors. Nathan Denton, Reid Bassinger and Trey Fricke of Lee & Associates represented the seller, an entity doing business as 8600 Central Venture, in the transaction. Michelle Hudson and Tom Hudson of Hudson Peters Commercial represented the buyer, Panda High Plains.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Bellomy & Co. has brokered the sale of a 463-unit CubeSmart self-storage facility that is located approximately eight miles outside of downtown Austin. The property was built in 2019 and totals 57,707 net rentable square feet. Bill Bellomy and Michael Johnson of Bellomy & Co. represented the seller, a Dallas-based entity doing business as I35 South LP, in the transaction. The duo also procured the buyer, a locally based entity doing business as PG Cactus Bulldog I LLC.
ALLEN, TEXAS — Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP Construction) has broken ground on the Stephen G. Terrell Recreation Center, a 150,000-square-foot facility in the northeastern Dallas suburb of Allen. The center will house two gyms, an indoor jogging track, weight room, group fitness areas, children’s play areas and a catering kitchen. On June 8, the Allen City Council approved $40.4 million in public financing to begin construction of the project, which is slated for an early 2023 completion. Denver-based Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture is designing the project.
CONROE, TEXAS — Houston-based Gordon Partners has completed the 35,000-square-foot expansion of Waterpoint Center, an office, retail and restaurant development located north of Houston on Lake Conroe. Retail and restaurant users that will soon be opening at the 140,000-square-foot waterfront property include Akashi Asian Bistro, Crust Pizza Co., Boardwalk Boutique, The Paleta Bar, Hunger Crush Café and Bar Lago Craft Cocktails. Gordon Partners will soon break ground on an additional 10,000 square feet of office and medical space that is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2022.