When beginning the loan process, borrowers and lenders start with a solid foundation. But what happens if a new or renovated project doesn’t lease up as quickly as expected? What happens if construction delays push past the end of the construction loan? What happens if construction cost overruns jeopardize completion of a project? And what if the economic upcycle turns downward before your project is completed? Mark Fogel, President and CEO of ACRES Capital, talks about the role of alternative lenders and how communication between borrowers and lenders can overcome these challenges. Watch the video for Fogel’s recommendations on creating a solid partnership with your lender. This video is posted as part of REBusinessOnline’s Finance Insight series, covering MBA CREF 2020. Click here to subscribe to the Finance Insight newsletter, a four-week newsletter series, followed by video interviews from MBA CREF.
Texas
The Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) real estate market is remarkable. In a recent meeting with a broker from another market, he made the observation: “You guys in Texas are like a country unto yourself. It’s not that you don’t know there are 49 other states, you just don’t care!” While that was a bit of an exaggeration, the point was well taken. Certainly DFW is not immune to national affairs and recessions, but the market appears to have enough momentum to carry through 2020, though the uncertainty of the presidential election could cause a few users and buyers to pause before making decisions. In 2016, as Global President for the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), I travelled throughout North America and Europe. Continually meeting with SIOR brokers in other markets gave me unique perspective on how DFW really does compare to the rest. The leasing and absorption activity far outweigh most other markets, making it an enviable location. Texas will always be a magnet for businesses as long as it retains a pro-business state of mind: Texas is a central part of the country and a right-to-work state with no state income tax, among other attractive incentives. Oftentimes, as …
HOUSTON — Texas A&M University has unveiled plans for a $546 million expansion project at Texas Medical Center in Houston. The project will include the $145 million acquisition and renovation of the 18-story Texas A&M Engineering Medicine (EnMed) building at 1020 Holcombe Blvd., as well as $401 million construction of two new towers adjacent to the EnMed structure. The first new building is a 30-story medical tower slated for completion in June 2023. The property will include 72,000 square feet of retail space and 8,700 square feet of green space. The tower will expand the EnMed building’s engineering medicine programs, which include a combination of medical and engineering degrees. The second new building is a 19-story residential tower slated for completion in June 2022. The project will include 704 beds of student housing and a 3,444-space parking garage. Texas A&M College of Medicine students and Prairie View A&M University College of Nursing students will have first priority to occupy the housing, but students from other institutions can also apply. The expansion will be part of Texas Medical Center’s planned 1.5 million-square-foot TMC3 translational research campus. With construction scheduled to begin this year for completion in 2022, TMC3 will include 112,000 …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Ascendant Commercial, a Dallas-based investment and development firm, has purchased land at the northwest corner of Interstate 35 and State Highway 1187 in south Fort Worth for a 2.2 million-square-foot industrial project. Construction of Phase I of the project is expected to commence this summer and to feature an 850,000-square-foot speculative distribution center. Delivery is slated for May 2021. CBRE is handling leasing of the new facility.
HOUSTON — Cushman & Wakefield has acquired Colvill Office Properties, a Houston-based provider of office agency leasing services. The company currently oversees marketing and leasing efforts for roughly 17 million square feet of Class A office space throughout the Houston area. The Colvill portfolio includes more than 30 individual properties in the central business district, Energy Corridor/Katy Freeway, Galleria/Uptown, Westchase, West Belt, Springwoods and Inner Loop submarkets. Colvill CEO and president Chip Colvill will join Cushman & Wakefield as executive vice chairman.
FRISCO, TEXAS — KWA Construction has topped out Kilby, a 258-unit apartment community located within the $600 million Frisco Square mixed-use development north of Dallas. Designed by BGO Architects and developed by Toll Brothers Apartments, the property will offer a clubroom, conference lounge, gaming lounge, two-story fitness center with a yoga deck, pet spa and an outdoor patio with grills surrounding a resort-style pool. Completion is scheduled for late 2020.
CONROE, TEXAS — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has negotiated the sale of West Creek Apartment Homes, a 228-unit community located about 25 miles north of Houston in Conroe. The property features one-, two- and three-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, business center and a resident clubhouse. Will Balthrope, Drew Kile, Jennifer Campbell and Will Griffin of IPA represented the seller, Partin Real Estate Management, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, Southstar Capital Group.
HOUSTON — Parkview Financial has provided a $38 million loan for the construction of a 168-unit apartment community located at 1107 Shepherd Drive in Houston. The property will also feature 20,475 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a 305-space parking structure. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, outdoor kitchen, business center and a dog park. Construction has commenced and is expected to be complete in mid-2021. Greystone arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Hunington Properties.
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M&T Realty Capital: What’s the latest in seniors housing finance?
At MBA CREF, M&T Realty Capital’s Sean Huntsman met with reporter Nellie Day to discuss the trends he’s seeing in the multifamily and seniors housing sectors. One big takeaway: The current market demands flexibility and diversified lending. M&T Realty Capital Corp.’s lending platform is allowing the company to both succeed and expand — they had a record 2019 in terms of loan production for healthcare and seniors housing sectors. In addition to a robust pipeline of multifamily and seniors housing construction loans, M&T is also working with owners/operators who are stabilizing assets and recapitalizing equity. However, Huntsman is seeing the impact of high labor and constructions costs and some overbuilding in certain markets, indicating that stakeholders need to look closely at demand on a market-by-market basis. Watch the video for more insights from Huntsman. This video is posted as part of REBusinessOnline’s Finance Insight series, covering MBA CREF 2020. Click here to subscribe to the Finance Insight newsletter, a four-week newsletter series, followed by video interviews from MBA CREF.
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TD Bank: Practical Steps to Promote Affordable Housing
2020 looks like it will be a record year in terms of delivery of multifamily units, according to Gregg Gerken, Head of U.S. Commercial Real Estate with TD Bank. But how much will Class A continue to dominate the market? “There is a movement toward rent control. Affordable housing is an obvious pressure in the industry,” Gerken says. Entitlement and construction costs mean that developers have focused on Class A projects and LIHTC-supported affordable housing projects. “But much more emphasis will have to be placed on workforce housing and Class B new delivery. There is an unmet — and almost unlimited — demand in that space,” Gerken says. The question is: can the industry influence government — especially local government — to change entitlement processes to encourage development of more affordable housing? Watch the interview for Gerken’s insights on affordable housing development. This video is posted as part of REBusinessOnline’s Finance Insight series, covering MBA CREF 2020. Click here to subscribe to the Finance Insight newsletter, a four-week newsletter series, followed by video interviews from MBA CREF.