WHITE MARSH, MD. — Monarch Communities has unveiled plans for Monarch White Marsh, a 188-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community in the Baltimore suburb of White Marsh. Construction is scheduled to begin this month on the $80 million project. The property is incorporated into a 113-acre, master-planned, mixed-use development known as Villages of White Marsh. The community will be connected to a 20-acre park via a walking bridge, providing access to 40 acres of open space and walking trails. Monarch will be the operator upon completion, which is slated for late 2023. Monarch Communities operates and develops senior living communities along the East Coast.
Maryland
Catalyst Healthcare, Bain Capital Break Ground on 60,000 SF Medical Office Building in Laurel, Maryland
by John Nelson
LAUREL, MD. — Catalyst Healthcare Real Estate and Bain Capital Real Estate have broken ground on a 60,000-square-foot medical office building in Laurel, a city about midway between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The property will be connected to the University of Maryland Capital Region Health Hospital by an enclosed skyway and offer outpatient services, including family medicine, imaging, internal medicine, oncology, orthopedics, pharmacy, physical therapy, OB/GYN and dialysis. The building, which will feature about 3,000 square feet of commercial space, is the first phase of the master plan that will include the development of 11 healthcare buildings, as well as retail, restaurants and green space. Catalyst Healthcare and Bain Capital plan to open the property in summer 2023.
HYATTSVILLE, MD. — Government Investment Partners (GIP) has sold a 189,000-square-foot office building located at 3311 Toledo Road in Hyattsville for $45 million. The Deer Park, Ill.-based company purchased the 10-story office building in 2019 for $16 million as part of a joint venture. Located about seven miles of northeast of Washington, D.C., the property is anchored by the Centers for Disease and Control’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics and the Department of Justice. Shaun Weinberg, Eric Berkman, Scott Johnston and Robert England of Cushman & Wakefield represented GIP in the transaction. The buyer was not disclosed.
Developers Turn to CPACE Financing to Achieve Better Returns Amid Rising Costs Environment
by John Nelson
By Jason Schwartzberg, President of MD Energy Advisors The real estate development industry has been negatively impacted by a continued series of hardships over the past 24 months, including rapidly escalating construction costs, breakdowns in the supply chain, inflation, labor shortages, rent freezes and, most recently, rising interest rates. Many projects are still managing to receive financing and get underway, but the current environment presents significant challenges for owners and investors to place a project under contract, achieve entitlement, obtain construction financing and then build, deliver and stabilize the development. For a project to move from concept to completion, it must first meet the internal rate of return (IRR) or hurdle rate, also known as the “minimum acceptable rate of return” (MARR). Developers and investors maintain various thresholds for the definition of an acceptable IRR, but the return of the project must ultimately be commensurate with the risk undertaken to complete it. Variables associated with construction and market risks also factor into the equation. There are several methods to increase a project’s return in order to reach a desired hurdle rate, some of which are outside of the developer’s direct control. Major inputs that significantly impact returns include the cost …
BALTIMORE — New York-based Link Logistics has completed the disposition of Beltway+ Industrial Portfolio, a six-property, 430,118-square-foot industrial portfolio located in the Mid-Atlantic region. Massachusetts-based High Street Logistics Properties acquired the portfolio for $67.5 million. Situated in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, Beltway+ Industrial Portfolio was 92 percent leased at the time of sale to 26 tenants. The largest asset in the portfolio is a 114,980-square-foot, Class A property located at 6695 Business Parkway within Meadowridge Business Park in Elkridge, Md. The remaining properties are small-bay industrial assets with direct access to Interstate 695. Christopher Abramson, Ben McCarty and Nicholas Signor of Newmark represented the seller in the deal. Brian Kruger, Thomas Hinder and Erik Evans of Newmark will handle leasing of the property on behalf the new ownership.
Foundry Commercial Buys 24-Property Spring Arbor Senior Living Portfolio in Mid-Atlantic
by Amy Works
ORLANDO — Foundry Commercial, in partnership with an investment fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing, has purchased the Spring Arbor Senior Living collection of 24 assisted living and memory care communities across the Mid-Atlantic. As part of the transaction, Foundry Commercial acquired the current operator, which will continue to manage the properties post-closing. The portfolio contains 1,424 units throughout Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, with capacity for more than 1,800 residents. The Spring Arbor platform will continue operations under the Spring Arbor Senior Living brand. Capital Funding arranged financing for the transaction. Terms of the acquisition were not released.
HYATTSVILLE, MD. — Urban Investment Partners Inc. (UIP) has secured debt and equity financing for Canvas, a $112 million mixed-use development in downtown Hyattsville. The six-story project will be located at 5300 Baltimore Ave. and feature 285 one- and two-bedroom apartments, 31,660 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 681 parking spaces. Washington, D.C.-based UIP is financing the project using $27.1 million in equity, including $19.1 million from crowd-sourced capital raised on CrowdStreet from 422 individual investors. Other financing sources included a $42.3 million loan from Parkview Financial and $42.8 million in proceeds from a land sale-leaseback agreement with Safehold. Torti Gallas + Partners designed Canvas, which is expected to begin initial occupancy in the fourth quarter of 2023.
HALETHORPE, MD. — MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services has brokered the $10.3 million sale of a 103,640-square-foot warehouse in Baltimore County. The transaction includes a vacant, single-story property located at 1407 Parker Road in Halethorpe and an adjacent development site located at 1441 Knecht Ave. Built in 1960, the property features office space, 16- to 21-foot clear heights, five loading bays, interior dock positions and surface parking spaces. Ohio-based Pioneer Cladding & Glazing Systems Inc. purchased the property and land from Pitts Realty LP, which formerly operated David Edwards Furniture from the site. Daniel Hudak and Andrew Meeder of MacKenzie represented the seller in the transaction.
University of Maryland Medical Center Breaks Ground on $219M Healthcare Tower in Baltimore
by John Nelson
BALTIMORE — The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) has broken ground on the Roslyn and Leonard Stoler Center for Advanced Medicine, a nine-story patient care tower located on the UMMC campus at 22 S. Greene St. in downtown Baltimore. The facility will serve as the new entrance to the UMMC and house the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC). The $219 million development is expected to be completed in mid-2025. The project, which will more than double the cancer center’s footprint, will feature 198,000 square feet of new space and 42,000 square feet of renovated space. UMMC is funding the tower with $100 million from the state of Maryland, along with private donations and UMMC capital funds. UMMC has raised more than $51 million from 130 donors as part of UMMC’s Building for Life Campaign to fund the project. Clark Construction will serve as general contractor for the project, which is estimated to be wrap up in 32 months.
JLL Arranges $19.5M Acquisition Financing for Metro D.C. Affordable Housing Community
by John Nelson
LEXINGTON PARK, MD. — JLL Capital Markets has arranged a $19.5 million acquisition loan for River Bay Townhomes, a 173-unit affordable housing community in Lexington Park. JLL arranged the floating-rate loan through Sound Point Capital Management on behalf of the borrower, Linden Property Group. Developed using Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) in 2004 and 2005, River Bay Townhomes consists of three-bedroom, two-bath units an average square footage of 1,291, making them some of the largest units available in metropolitan Washington, D.C., according to JLL. Of the 173 units, 155 units are set aside for tenants who make no more than 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). Situated at 48100 Baywoods Drive, the property is located within St. Mary’s County in southern Maryland at the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay, the Potomac River and the Patuxent River. The area includes multiple military bases and defense contractors, St. Mary’s College of Maryland and the University of Southern Maryland.