With two approved vaccines to combat COVID-19, the end of the pandemic is visible on the horizon. However, some seniors housing experts say it may be the third quarter of 2021 before the sector starts to see the turnaround take hold. “We have a much clearer picture of what the post-COVID world will look like,” said Adam Heavenrich, managing director of Heavenrich & Company. “The COVID world of 2020 will hopefully look drastically different from the post-COVID world of 2021.” The comments came during a panel titled “Investment Update: Should Today’s Investor Buy, Sell or Hold?” during France Media’s InterFace Seniors Housing Investment, Development & Operations conference, held virtually in early December. Heavenrich moderated the panel, which included Kevin Carden, senior vice president of acquisitions, REDICO/American House; Joe Weisenburger, senior vice president and relationship manager, Welltower; Isaac Dole, founder and CEO, Birchwood Health Care Partners; and Curtis King, senior vice president, HJ Sims. King noted that, while the vaccine is certainly good news, turnaround properties and new construction can expect occupancy woes to continue for the near future. “We’re saying 2021 is still going to be a very tough year,” said King. “Pre-vaccination news, we were out there lending, looking …
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By Bob Kraemer, Kraemer Design Group The way that we work, eat, shop, gather and interact in community spaces will never look the same. While we may someday return to dine-in experiences and large-scale events, it’s clear the novel coronavirus has prompted profound and pervasive societal changes that are here to stay. It should come as no surprise to anyone who understands the deep connection between designed spaces and the people who occupy them that public spaces will need to evolve. We have already seen an evolution of spaces in order to stay relevant, stay profitable and in some cases, stay open. What does all of this mean for design and development? To understand what the brick-and-mortar landscape of tomorrow might look like, we have to think differently about the design of public spaces and the evolving priorities and practices of consumers, diners and office users. The waiting game Thinking differently about the design and functionality of public spaces means ensuring spaces formerly seen as functional or utilitarian are updated to address health and safety concerns and are no longer viewed and designed as an afterthought — but as strategically designed spaces. For example, diners waiting to be seated or …
Wells Fargo Provides $290M in Construction Financing for Midtown Union Mixed-Use Development in Atlanta
by Alex Tostado
ATLANTA — Wells Fargo Bank has provided two construction loans totaling $290 million for Midtown Union, a mixed-use development that broke ground last December in Midtown Atlanta. A joint venture between MetLife Investment Management and Granite Properties is developing a 26-story, 612,000-square-foot office building at the project that will serve as the future headquarters of Invesco. Wells Fargo provided the joint venture with a $210 million loan for the office building, for which general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie has completed seven stories. The office tower will feature 24,000 square feet of ground-level retail, a 12,000-square-foot terrace on the eighth floor, a fitness center and 14-foot floor-to-ceiling windows. Cooper Carry designed the building to also feature an HVAC system that features MERV 13 air filters and Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization technology to combat COVID-19. Additionally, a joint venture between MetLife Investment Management and StreetLights Residential received an $80 million loan for Midtown Union’s 18-story, 355-unit multifamily community adjacent to the office tower. Brasfield & Gorrie has completed 12 levels of the residential space and expects to deliver both buildings in the third quarter of 2022. The community will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities will include coworking space, …
MCLEAN, VA. AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — McLean-based Freddie Mac and Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae have extended their forbearance programs for multifamily borrowers that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the programs, multifamily landlords whose properties are financed with a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan can defer their loan payments by showing hardship as a consequence of COVID-19, and by gaining lender approval. The extension now runs through March 31, 2021. The programs also require landlords to suspend all evictions for renters during the forbearance period. The two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) had announced in June that the programs would expire at the end of 2020. Other tenant protections through the program include: Landlords must provide rent repayment flexibility and cannot require missed or late rents to be paid in one lump sum; Landlords cannot charge late fees or penalties for nonpayments; and Landlords must provide 30 days’ notice for the tenant to vacate during the repayment period. “We are still in the midst of the pandemic, and to continue to provide support for the multifamily market, we are providing additional time for borrowers to request a new or supplemental forbearance agreement,” says Debby Jenkins, executive vice president and head of …
MILLS RIVER, N.C. — Collett Industrial has broken ground on a 90,720-square-foot logistics facility in Mills River. The property is being built on a build-to-suit basis for an undisclosed Fortune 500 retailer. ABC 13 News reports the site is located on School House Road, five miles from Interstate 26 and six miles from Asheville Regional Airport. Randall Bentley and Jordan Skellie of Lee & Associates secured the lease on behalf of the developer. Vannoy Construction is the general contractor for the asset, which is expected to deliver in summer 2021.
Palomar Group Arranges $12.3M Sale of Grocery-Anchored Center in Walkertown, North Carolina
by Alex Tostado
WALKERTOWN, N.C. — Palomar Group has arranged the $12.3 million sale of Walkertown Commons, an 81,432-sqaure-foot shopping center in Walkertown. Lowes Foods anchors the fully leased property, which was originally built in 2004. Walkertown Commons is located at 5180 Reidsville Road, eight miles northeast of downtown Winston-Salem. Ryan McArdle, Steve Collins, David Rivers, Jefferson Knox and Lee Malchow of Palomar Group represented the seller, an undisclosed regional investor, in the transaction. An undisclosed buyer based in South Carolina acquired the asset in a 1031 tax exchange.
SAN ANTONIO — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) will open three industrial facilities totaling 2.1 million square feet in the San Antonio area over the next two years. Combined, the three new facilities are expected to bring about 1,500 new jobs to the market. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant will open a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in 2021 and a 750,000-square-foot fulfillment center in 2022, as well as a 350,000-square-foot delivery station at 8210 Aviation Landing. After items are sorted and at fulfillment centers, they are transported to delivery stations for last-mile distribution to customers. The developers and sites of the fulfillment centers were not disclosed.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Texas-based developer Presidium and global investment manager Partners Group have unveiled plans for River Park, a 109-acre mixed-use project that will be located on East Riverside Drive near Oracle’s newly announced headquarters campus. The new master plan for the project calls for more than 10 million square feet of commercial and residential space across office, retail, hospitality, entertainment and multifamily uses. The residential component will also include 400 affordable housing units. River Park will be a multi-phase project that is expected to take 10 to 20 years to fully build out. A new street network of short, pedestrian-friendly blocks and trail connections will link the various uses and connect to the surrounding neighborhood and a new multimodal transit hub. Gensler is leading the design of the project. The team anticipates beginning construction with a 15-acre portion along the southeastern side of the site.
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Newmark has brokered the sale of Northpoint Crossing, a 1,842-bed student housing community serving Texas A&M University in College Station. The 627-unit property was developed in 2014 and 2015 and is located across the street from the north corner of campus. Units feature studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bed floor plans. Amenities include two fitness centers, two computer labs, a 24-hour clubhouse, game rooms, outdoor grilling stations, sauna and steam rooms and a rooftop terrace. Ryan Lang, Jack Brett and Ben Harkrider of Newmark represented the sellers, Woodridge Capital and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management LP, in the transaction. Both entities are based in Los Angeles. A joint venture between affiliates of global investment manager Ares Management Corp. and New York-based private equity firm Timberline Real Estate Ventures purchased the asset for an undisclosed price.
SAN ANTONIO — California-based investment firm Passco Cos. has acquired Lenox Overlook, a 338-unit apartment community in north-central San Antonio. Built in 2019, the property features one-, two- and three-bedroom residences averaging 861 square feet. Units are furnished with stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, individual washers and dryers and private balconies/patios. Communal amenities include a pool with a sundeck and swim-up bar, indoor and outdoor fitness centers, a dog park with a wash station, clubhouse with billiards and TVs and a business center. Patton Jones of Newmark represented Passco in the transaction. The seller and developer was Austin-based Oden Hughes. Caleb Marten of KeyBank Real Estate Capital arranged acquisition financing on behalf of Passco, which has also rebranded the community as TruNorth at Bulverde.