HOUSTON — CBRE has arranged a $100.2 million loan for the refinancing of a portfolio of four multifamily properties located in Houston’s Westchase neighborhood totaling 1,330 units. Derek Fasulo and Frances Rogers of CBRE arranged the nonrecourse, floating-rate loan through an undisclosed bridge lender on behalf of the borrower, a joint venture doing business as Westchase Houston LLC. The loan was structured with a five-year term and 60 months of interest-only payments. The names of the properties were not disclosed.
IRVING, TEXAS — Bank of America has provided a $95 million loan for the refinancing of Urban Towers, an 850,000-square-foot office complex located on 11.2 acres in Irving. Built in 1982 and 1984, the property consists of a 22-story tower and a 17-story building with five- and seven-story parking structures, respectively. David Milestone of Newmark arranged the five-year loan on behalf of the borrower, San Diego-based Parallel Capital Partners Inc. At the time of the loan closing, Urban Towers was 82 percent leased to tenants such as The Pasha Group, Celanese, MultiPlan Inc. and Hyundai Merchant Marine.
COPPELL, TEXAS — General contractor Adolfson & Peterson has begun construction on VariSpace Coppell, a 180,000-square-foot office building near Fort Worth that will serve as the global headquarters for flexible workspace provider Vari. Designed by BOKA Powell with interior design by Corgan, the building includes 120,000 square feet of flexible office space with balconies. Amenities include a fitness center and grab-and-go food services. Completion is slated for summer 2022. Vari, formerly known as VariDesk, is known for incorporating standing desks into its workspaces.
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Multifamily investment and management firm Universe Holdings has acquired Mariners Cove, a 225-unit townhome community in the coastal New Jersey city of Toms River, for $60 million. Built in 1972 and renovated in 2013, the waterfront property features two-bedroom units, about 90 percent of which offer water views. Amenities include a fitness center, playground and a pet play area, according to Apartments.com. Spencer Yablon of CBRE represented both Universe Holdings and the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Mariners Cove was 98 percent occupied at the time of sale.
PHILADELPHIA — CBRE has negotiated the sale of a 140,913-square-foot life sciences building located at 3701 Market St. in Philadelphia. Built in 2000, the property was leased to Penn Medicine and Drexel University at the time of sale. Robert Fahey, Jerry Kranzel, Bruer Kershner, Erin Hannan and Jack Corcoran of CBRE represented the seller, University City Science Center, in the transaction. Steven Doherty and Nick Harris of CBRE arranged an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, San Francisco-based GI Partners, which purchased the eight-story building for an undisclosed price.
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. —The Michaels Organization has purchased Bergen Circle Apartments, a 201-unit mixed-income housing property in Springfield, located in the western part of the state. MassHousing provided Michaels with a $13.3 million construction loan along with a $7.9 million repair loan to fund a renovation program that will include HVAC upgrades, new flooring and appliances and new window installation. The community offers two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, 118 of which are restricted to households earning up to 50 percent of the area median income (AMI). Fifty-two units restricted to those earning up to 80 percent of AMI. The remaining units are rented at market rates. The general contractor for the renovation program is Michaels Construction; the architect is Urban Practice.
WEST HAVEN, CONN. — O,R&L Commercial LLC has brokered the sale of Savin Rock Plaza, a 62,722-square-foot retail center in West Haven, located in the southern coastal part of the state. The sales price was $3 million. Phil Marshall of O,R&L represented the buyer, DeLaurentis Management Corp., which plans to implement a capital improvement program, in the transaction. The seller was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged a $12.4 million loan for the refinancing of a 36-unit multifamily building in The Bronx. Eli Weisblum of Ariel Property Advisors led the debt placement for the newly constructed building. The borrower and direct lender were not disclosed.
CHICAGO AND NEW YORK CITY — Ventas Inc. (NYSE: VTR) has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire New Senior Investment Group (NYSE: SNR), a New York City-based owner of independent living communities across the country. The deal between these two seniors housing real estate investment trusts (REITs) is valued at $2.3 billion, including $1.5 billion of debt. The transaction will bolster the number of independent living communities for Ventas, which as of March 31 owned (fully or partially) 1,200 properties. As of first-quarter 2021, 48 percent of Ventas’ portfolio was classified as independent living. Post acquisition, Ventas expects independent living will comprise 58 percent of its portfolio. New Senior currently owns 103 properties across 36 states, with a large concentration clustered in California, North Carolina, Florida and Oregon. The portfolio was a little more than 80 percent occupied as of May 31, and the average age of residents was 81. The only New Senior property that isn’t independent living is Watermark at Logan Square, a continuing care retirement community located in Philadelphia. The acquisition will deepen Ventas’ relationship with seniors housing operators such as Atria Senior Living and Holiday Retirement, which announced last week their plans to merge …
Atlanta is a hot spot for investing in multifamily assets as the market emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The apartment market’s fundamentals, including occupancy and rent growth, have held up considerably well, making the market extremely attractive to buyers. Because the Atlanta market has an abundance of capital looking to be deployed, prices are being driven up significantly and cap rates driven down. Multifamily has outperformed many other commercial real estate sectors during the pandemic, considered a “hot-ticket asset class” by investors, which leads to new capital swarming the Atlanta apartment market. Many multifamily properties are now routinely trading at a sub-4 percent cap rate, indicative of the vast amount of available capital and the confidence that investors have in the product type. However, rather than clearing the market and searching for as many prospective buyers as they can, sellers are looking at a smaller subset of dominant, well-known investors that they know will deliver and get the transaction done. They are seeking six to 12 well-recognized, established players that can execute a deal at top prices. It is an extremely competitive process, and all buyers know they have to swing high on pricing. Oftentimes, no one broker is selected …