CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ready Capital has closed an $11.3 million loan for the recapitalization, redevelopment and lease-up of an approximately 72,000-square-foot, Class B industrial, adaptive reuse project located in northwest Charlotte. Upon closing, the sponsor will reposition the property from industrial/flex to mixed-use (office/retail). The sponsor is targeting creative office and experiential retail tenants and will also carve out an area that will be used as an event space. The non-recourse, interest-only loan provides future funding for capital expenditures, tenant leasing costs and interest shortfalls. Additionally, it includes a one-time earnout, which the sponsor is eligible for throughout the first 24 months of the loan term. The loan features a 36-month term, two extension options and flexible prepayment. The borrower was not disclosed.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Tricera Capital, a Miami-based real estate investment firm led by Ben Mandell and Scott Sherman, has obtained a $50.8 million loan for The Press, a mixed-use project in West Palm Beach. The transaction refinances an existing loan and provides Tricera with the necessary funding to complete the redevelopment of the Palm Beach Post campus. Jason Krane and Simon Ziff of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group arranged the financing on behalf of Tricera through Chicago-based Monroe Capital LLC. Law firm Polsinelli served as Tricera’s legal representative for the transaction. Located on more than 11 acres at 2751 S. Dixie Highway, The Press is an adaptive reuse project in which nearly all existing structures are being preserved. The property includes a 125,000-square-foot retail component known as the Shops at the Press and an adjacent 140,000-square-foot office building branded as Workspaces at the Press. Tricera finalized a long-term lease with Joseph’s Classic Market to anchor Shops at the Press, and the company expects to deliver the Joseph’s space by summer 2022. Joseph’s, a family-owned Italian specialty market founded in 2005, is leasing more than 15,000 square feet. Tricera also completed a lease with retailer Tipsy Salonbar, a South Florida-based …
CHICAGO — Summit Design + Build has completed the adaptive reuse of a former Sears department store in Chicago’s Ravenswood neighborhood. The Sears store opened in 1925 and permanently closed in 2016. Summit transformed the property into 59 apartment units with first-floor commercial space. DeVry University occupies 90 percent of the available commercial space. Floor plans range from one- to three-bedroom units. CA Ventures and Springbank Capital Advisors served as developers. Gillespie Design Group was the project architect.
AUBURN, MASS. — Pennrose and the Town of Auburn, located just south of Worcester, have broken ground on the historic rehabilitation of the Julia Bancroft School, a 60-unit, mixed-income development for seniors age 62 and older. Plans for the redevelopment include renovating the original 1920s school building, demolishing the later-built addition and replacing it with a new, four-story building. The project is slated for completion in summer 2022. The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development provided 9 percent federal low-income housing tax credits for the project.
SOUTHBRIDGE, MASS. — Arch Communities and WinnDevelopment are underway on construction of a $25.7 million adaptive reuse project in Southbridge, located in the south-central part of the state, that will convert the Mary E. Wells school into a 62-unit affordable housing community for seniors aged 55 and above. The majority (56) of the units will be reserved for renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income (AMI), while the remainder will be restricted to households earning 30 percent or less of AMI. The school was built in 1916 as the town’s first public high school and has been vacant since 2012. Upon completion, which is slated for spring 2022, Wells School Apartments will feature a fitness center, tenant lounge, activity room, game room, library and an internal courtyard.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Big Cypress Capital and LPA Urban have completed the $17.3 million sale of 2317 Thrift Road, a two-story adaptive reuse office property spanning 38,000 square feet in Charlotte’s FreeMoreWest neighborhood. Big Cypress Capital and LPA Urban purchased the asset in January 2019 and signed local advertising firm Wray Ward to anchor the space in summer 2019. The co-owners redeveloped the existing 19,000-square-foot structure and doubled the footprint with a new addition ahead of its delivery in October 2020. Naples, Fla.-based Big Cypress sold the asset via its Headwaters Strategic Operator platform. It was the first sale in the firm’s 2018 Vintage Year Headwaters Real Estate Opportunities Fund I. The buyer was a joint venture partnership that is backed by an undisclosed institutional investor.
CLEVELAND — GBX Group LLC, in partnership with Ethos Capital Partners LLC, have completed the revitalization of 2125 Superior Avenue in Cleveland’s Superior Arts District. The modernized residential and retail property is now known as 2125 Superior Living. Originally built in 1914 as the home of The Prince-Wolf Co. garment factory, the property now includes 57 units. The 40,000-square-foot development features amenities such as a courtyard and dog park. Street-level retail space will be home to Green Goat, a bar and café by local restauranteur Bobby George. Residents will begin moving in this month with Green Goat slated to open in early 2021.
ATLANTA — Developer Jamestown has unveiled plans to expand Ponce City Market in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood by 500,000 square feet. Expansion plans for the mixed-use development include a 100,000-square-foot office building, an outdoor courtyard with 38,000 square feet of shopping and dining space, and more than 400 units of a “hospitality living” concept. Jamestown says the hospitality concept was designed to cater to the way people live and work today, with spaces available for both short-term and long-term leases at accessible price points. Residents will enjoy hotel-like services and amenities, including regular housekeeping and laundry services, a rooftop terrace and pool, and in-building storage units. The office building will offer tenants customizable floorplates with the option to create private outdoor balconies. The ground floor will house 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space with a direct connection to the new courtyard. The four-story building is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification and reduce embedded carbon. There will also be bike and scooter parking, designated rideshare drop-off sites, an electric bike share program and electric car charging stations. The next phase of Ponce City Market will also feature an expansion of the Central Food Hall. Jamestown plans to …
ROCHESTER, MINN. — Kraus-Anderson has completed the adaptive reuse and construction of the Development Services and Infrastructure Center and the North Station for the Rochester Police Department (RPD) in southern Minnesota. The total project investment was $18.4 million. As space became limited at City Hall, the City of Rochester bought the former Think Bank building and land in 2016 in order to relocate the RPD and the city’s newly formed Development Services and Infrastructure team, which includes the Community Development Department, Building Safety and Public Works. Designed by BKV Group, the 47,000-square-foot transformation of the Think Bank building began in July 2019.
RACINE, WIS. — CG Schmidt has broken ground on an adaptive reuse project at the site of the historic Horlick Malted Milk Co. plant in Racine, about 25 miles south of Milwaukee. The project will transform the industrial complex into 136 market-rate and affordable apartment units. The first $40 million phase will revamp buildings located at 2100 and 2200 Northwestern Ave., which date back to 1875. State and federal historic tax credits will help developer J. Jeffers finance Phase I. AG Architecture is the project architect. The Horlick plant shut down in 1975.