ALBUQUERQUE — The Community Development Trust, an affordable housing REIT, and YES Housing Inc., an affordable housing operator, have formed a joint venture to recapitalize three YES-operated properties in New Mexico. CDT will invest $4.5 million to preserve 262 units of affordable Section 8 seniors housing in Albuquerque, Las Cruces and Roswell. The money will fund improvements and preserve affordability at the properties, which are reserved for seniors earning below 60 percent of the area median income. The first property to receive improvements will be the 60-unit Wildewood Apartments in Roswell. CDT and YES acquired the property earlier this month using Freddie Mac financing through Hunt Mortgage Group. The JV plans to make $300,000 in capital improvements to the asset, which was built in 1978 and renovated in 2000. The other two properties were not disclosed, as the acquisitions are still pending.
LAKE OSWEGO, ORE. — 365 by Whole Foods Market will open its second location West Coast location in Lake Oswego, Ore., on July 14. The second store will host two new Friends of 365 partners that both originate from Portland, Ore.: Next Level Burger, a plant-based take on hamburgers, and Canteen, a café and juice bar. Both ‘friends’ will establish shops within the store. The store will also offer online ordering and delivery. Whole Foods hopes to open 10 stores under the 365 brand in 2017.
BRASELTON, GA. — ARW Group LLC, a joint venture between Peachtree City developer Jorge Duran and Harry Kitchen Jr. of the Foxfield Co., plans to build Atlanta River Walk, a $700 million mixed-use destination in Braselton. The proposed 508-acre project will be centered around a man-made “river” and will resemble the San Antonio Riverwalk and Oklahoma City Bricktown. The waterfront village will feature international restaurants and high-end shopping. Other components include single-family and multifamily housing, a Class A office park, seniors housing, a movie theater, boutique hotel, conference center, major supermarket and an outdoor amphitheater. The project will be surrounded by 30 acres of green space featuring art installations, walking trails and a multi-use path. Atlanta River Walk will be situated near Chateau Elan and Road Atlanta and straddle the county line between Hall and Jackson counties. ARW Group created the master plan in collaboration with Wakefield Beasley Architects and engineering firm Atwell Group. Funari Realty will manage residential sales. The project team also includes Road Atlanta and the city of Braselton. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that ARW Group will present the Atlanta River Walk project at a Hall County Planning Commission meeting today to get the site rezoned. …
BALTIMORE — TruAmerica Multifamily, in partnership with MSD Capital LP, has purchased a 1,004-unit apartment portfolio in suburban Baltimore for $187 million. The acquisition is Los Angeles-based TruAmerica’s first purchase east of Colorado and includes the 158-unit Bayshore Landing in Annapolis, the 634-unit Sherwood Crossing in Eldridge and the 212-unit Southfield in Nottingham. Each property features resort-style pool areas, clubhouses, fitness centers and other recreational facilities. The apartment communities were built between 1984 and 1990. TruAmerica will complete an interior renovation plan started by the undisclosed seller that includes faux-wood flooring, granite countertops, updated cabinetry and new appliance packages. TruAmerica’s business plan also calls for upgrades to the portfolio’s common area amenities.
ATLANTA — Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. (PAC) has purchased six grocery-anchored retail properties in Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama for $68.7 million. The portfolio spans 535,000 square feet and comprises five Publix-anchored centers and one Walmart Supercenter-anchored property. PAC purchased the six properties through its wholly owned subsidiary New Market Properties LLC. PAC used roughly $25 million in debt from Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co. and First Unum Life Insurance Co. to purchase four of the properties. PAC used available funds to purchase the remaining balance of the four properties and to purchase the other two retail centers completely without debt.
ATLANTA — Birmingham, Ala.-based Graham Commercial Properties (GCP) has purchased a three-property portfolio of industrial buildings in metro Atlanta totaling $53.3 million. The portfolio comprises six Class A, bulk distribution buildings totaling 979,650 square feet. The portfolio includes Progress Center, a two-building, 451,200-square-foot property located at 2200 and 2225 Cedars Road in Lawrenceville; Air Commerce Center, a two-building, 268,400-square-foot property located at 4900 St. Joe Blvd. in College Park; and North Atlanta Distribution Center, a two-building, 260,050-square-foot industrial property located at 5065 and 5075 Buford Highway in Norcross. The buildings feature 24- to 30-foot clear heights, and the combined occupancy was 92 percent at the time of closing. CBRE represented the seller, Boston-based TA Realty, in the transaction, and GCP was represented in-house. Notable tenants include Innotrac, Zodiac Services, Wurth Wood and Carrier. Wells Fargo Bank provided acquisition financing on behalf of GCP. With this acquisition, GCP now controls 1.2 million square feet of industrial space in the Atlanta area.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — EB5 Capital has provided $40.5 million in preferred equity financing for Columbia Place, a $230 million dual-branded Marriott hotel project in Washington, D.C. Quadrangle Development Corp. and Capstone Development are co-developing Columbia Place, which comprises a 357-room Courtyard and a 147-room Residence Inn within one building. Brian Ostar of EB5 Capital led the fundraising campaign, and Patrick Rainey of EB5 Capital structured the investment platform. EB5 Capital raised the funds from 81 foreign investors through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Under the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) program, the EB-5 program allows a foreign national interested in obtaining permanent U.S. residency to do so by investing in a commercial enterprise that generates at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers for two years. The qualifying investment for a project like Columbia Place is $500,000.
COPPELL, TEXAS — ML Realty Partners LLC has begun construction on Phase II of Park West Crossing, which includes four industrial buildings totaling 304,943 square feet. Located in Coppell just north of DFW International Airport, the 74-acre master-planned business park is bordered by Freeport Parkway to the west, Southwestern Boulevard to the north and South Belt Line Road to the east. Upon completion, ML Realty Partners will have developed eight buildings at Park West Crossing totaling 612,443 square feet. The rear-load buildings should be available for occupancy during the fourth quarter and will range in size from 61,389 square feet to 91,968 square feet.
IRVING and SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — Dougherty Mortgage has secured two loans for multifamily properties in Texas. In the first transaction, Dougherty closed a $9.3 million Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of Silverado Apartments, a 184-unit apartment property located in Irving. The 10-year loan includes one year of interest-only payments and a 30-year amortization schedule. Dougherty’s Minneapolis office arranged the loan for borrower Elmstone Group OP1 through a partnership with Old Capital Lending. In the second transaction, Dougherty closed an $881,054 Fannie Mae loan for the acquisition of Windsor Village Apartments, a 124-unit complex located in San Antonio. Dougherty’s Vienna, Va., office arranged the loan with a 30-year amortization schedule on behalf of the borrower, Windsor Village SA Apartments LLC. The loan term is a little over eight years.
HOUSTON — The Houston office of JQ has provided structural engineering services for Caress Stadium at Helfman Field, located on The Emery/Weiner School’s 15-acre campus in southwest Houston at 9825 Stella Link Road. Construction was completed in March. The completion of Caress Stadium is part of the school’s Champions Campaign, a capital campaign with the goal of raising $20 million by 2020 to enrich academic programs, extend tuition assistance and to expand facilities to accommodate growth in its athletics and arts programs. The Caress Stadium fieldhouse project includes locker rooms, a weight room, ticket booth, concessions and support functions on the first level, along with a film deck, press box and mechanical mezzanine on the second level. There is also an on-site storage building adjacent to the field along with two wing wall structures on each end of the bleachers that will seat more than 500 spectators.