DES MOINES, IOWA — NorthMarq has secured a $4.7 million loan for the refinancing of a Broadway Storage facility in Des Moines. The 728-unit property is located at 4933 E. Broadway Ave. Jason Kinnison of NorthMarq’s Omaha office arranged the loan with a life insurance company. Terms of the loan were undisclosed.
With a pressing demand for new housing in the Boston area and communities struggling to provide affordable options to mitigate the effect of rising prices, the barriers to providing new affordable multifamily properties remain significant. Here in the Boston region, the scale of the problem is immense. Boston’s Metropolitan Area Planning Council recently declared a need for 185,000 new units of housing over next 10 or so years in the 15 cities and towns that comprise the inner core of the metro area — just to keep up with expected growth. Some of the integral variables and processes associated with multifamily development, like land acquisition and construction costs, can be tangibly quantified. But harder to define is the often unpredictable process of securing public approvals, wherein a development team must navigate the sometimes contentious ground between neighborhood groups and regulatory agencies. Locally Scaled Solutions In 2018, Related Beal completed The Beverly, a 239-unit, income-restricted project in downtown Boston, capturing headlines that heralded this significant model for addressing housing affordability in the region. Landmark projects like The Beverly represent great strides toward addressing the housing affordability crisis and have helped raise the awareness of efforts to develop real solutions to the …
LAKE PARK, FLA. — Forest Development has received unanimous approval from the City of Lake Park to build Nautilus 211, a mixed-use project featuring condominiums, office space, retail and restaurants. The 1.1 million-square-foot development will rise along the Intracoastal Waterway and overlook the Lake Park Harbor Marina. The project’s two 23-story towers will house 332 condo units. Amenities for residents will include two pools, pickleball courts, a putting green, game room, children’s play center, private theater, clubroom, resident bowling alley, library and fitness center. A fifth-floor entertainment area will offer a music studio, arts and crafts room, billiards room and Pilates studio. Four guest suites will be available for rent. In addition to the 332 condos, the project will include 13,000 square feet of office space, 8,058 square feet of retail space and 14,550 square feet of waterfront restaurant space. Five floors of parking will offer 863 spots for both residents and the public. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall, with completion slated for summer 2023. The project is the result of five years of planning, according to Peter Baytarian, managing partner of Lake Park-based Forest Development. Pricing has not yet been released, but Baytarian says the initial unit …
As we enter a new decade, it’s important for apartment owners and operators to understand the current state of the market and where it’s heading. In July 2019 we officially entered the longest recovery in our country’s history. Interest rates continue to be at historical lows, and there has been an influx of institutional appetite for Class B workforce housing, resulting in cap rate compression. That said, growth has started to slow and opportunistic investments are hard to come by. In 2020, Class B owners need to be selective and keep their houses in order by securing long-term, fixed-rate debt and continuing to focus on maximizing the renter experience. Here’s how you can capitalize in 2020. Monitor New Markets Class B workforce housing will continue to be a hot commodity for institutional investors because of its historical resilience to market recessions compared to other real estate sectors such as retail, office, and hospitality. The increased demand, coupled with low interest rates, should result in continued cap rate compression. For renters, the demand for affordable, quality living is high. Despite the fact that multifamily properties are being developed in almost every city across the United States, the majority are luxury, urban, …
James P. Flynn, CEO of New York-headquartered Hunt Real Estate Capital, believes 2020 will continue to provide a strong environment for multifamily lending and transactions. Though this may be good news for borrowers, it does mean competition in the market will also remain strong. Flynn addresses these points and elaborates on ORIX USA’s acquisition of the Hunt Companies’ commercial real estate financing subsidiary in the Q&A below. Finance Insight: What commercial property sector will experience the most activity in 2020, and why? Flynn: Multifamily should continue to be the most active commercial real estate sector in terms of financing activity. The MBA forecasts that multifamily lending will top $395 billion in 2020, a 9 percent increase over 2019 activity. That figure represents nearly 60 percent of the total commercial real estate activity forecast for 2020. With the Fed signaling no change to borrower costs for the year, the consensus seems to be a continued period of interest rates near historic lows. Multifamily owners and operators will continue to take advantage of this environment to rehabilitate, refinance and refine their portfolios. Of course, the other side of the equation is the growth in multifamily demand drivers. These drivers have remained strong, …
AURORA, ILL. — Walker & Dunlop Inc. has provided $11 million in bridge financing for The Vistas Fox Valley, a 136-bed supportive living facility in Aurora. The borrower was Cascade Capital Group, which used the funds to acquire the community. Walker & Dunlop’s bridge lending program utilizes the company’s own balance sheet to offer short-term, non-recourse loans for properties that are being acquired or repositioned. Joshua Rosen and the bridge lending team structured the financing with a nine-month term, full-term interest-only payments and flexible prepayment options. The borrower plans to replace the loan with HUD financing before the end of the year. Supportive living is an Illinois program to offer assisted living services while still allowing for government reimbursement.
ATLANTA — Elevator City Partners (ECP) has unveiled plans for its $400 million West End Mall redevelopment project in Atlanta’s historic West End neighborhood. The announcement follows months of public and private strategic meetings with community leaders and stakeholders, including nearby historic black colleges Spelman, Morehouse, Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse School of Medicine. The redevelopment of West End Mall will feature retail, restaurants, offices and housing delivered in two phases. The City of Atlanta provided a $2 million predevelopment loan to locally based-ECP to secure the site, perform due diligence work, begin preliminary designs with architectural firm Gensler and conduct feasibility studies with Alexander Babbage and Noell Consulting Group. The loan comes with affordable housing reserves for any future housing on the site. ECP seeks to raise $400 million from multiple types of public and private investors that could be interested in the project’s opportunity zone offerings. ECP says the project has attracted the interest of large banks, family offices and foundations and that one family office has brought a national hotel developer to the project. Atlanta BeltLine originator Ryan Gravel and venture capitalist Donray Von co-founded ECP. The firm will launch a $15 million fund to support minority-owned …
MONROE, GA. — MAB American Management plans to break ground in the first quarter on Monroe Pavilion, an $80 million shopping center situated on a 100-acre site in Monroe, an Atlanta suburb in Walton County. The property’s leasing agent, Retail Specialists, has signed several retailers to join the tenant roster of the 350,000-square-foot project, including Publix, Ross Dress for Less, Ulta Beauty, Marshalls, Rack Room Shoes and Five Below. Beau Young of Retail Specialists is also targeting restaurants and service-based retailers for the shopping center and its outparcels. MAB American Management, the U.S. affiliate firm of Australian-based developer MAB Corp., expects to deliver Monroe Pavilion in summer 2021.
VIENNA, VA. — The Ratner Cos., the parent company of salon concepts such as Hair Cuttery, Bubbles and Salon Cielo, plans to trim its 844-store portfolio by 10 percent. The company plans to maintain a presence in all existing markets as it looks to shift resources to its best-performing salons. Ratner Cos. cites “intense competition and rising operating costs,” as well as shifting consumer shopping methods, as the basis for its decision. The firm has engaged in discussions with landlords to renegotiate terms or exit some of its leases. In addition to store closures, Ratner is reducing staff at its Resource Center in its home office in Vienna to reflect its lower overall footprint. The majority of impacted staff in the salons have been offered employment at sister salons in their immediate areas, according to Ratner. The store closings will begin this week and continue for several months.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Sysco Corp., a global food distribution and marketing organization, has completed the expansion of FreshPoint Central Florida, a food processing facility located at 8801 Exchange Drive in Orlando. FreshPoint, Sysco’s specialty produce company, operates the facility. The expansion doubles the facility’s size to 150,000 square feet and includes a new culinary center for demonstrations and staging, new equipment for produce processing, LED lighting, energy-efficient coolers and a new system for collecting produce waste. FreshPoint Central Florida stocks a wide variety of locally grown products throughout the year, including tomatoes, citrus, row crop vegetables, Zellwood Triple Sweet Corn, microgreens, peaches, specialty potatoes, tropical fruits, grapes and figs.
