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Dolben Co. Starts Construction on 331-Unit Apartment Project in Lynn

May 15, 2020

Massachusetts-based developer Dolben Co. Inc. has started construction on Breakwater, a 331-unit apartment complex in Lynn.

The 481,201-square-foot project is being built at 254 Lynnway and overlooks Lynn Harbor. Prior to the project, the site was vacant for 35 years. The property will feature studio, one, two and three-bedroom floor plans ranging from 560 to 1,300 square feet. Amenities will include a fitness center, outdoor lounge, game room and harbor walk.

Construction is expected to be completed in March of 2022.

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Tags: Apartments & Multifamily, Development

13 Ways to Ramp up Your Savings While Quarantined

After the COVID-19 stuff happened, it seems like many people just took all of their goals and threw them away. “Oh, no! There’s adversity?! I quit.” Adversity will always exist in some form. Here’s how I recommend handling your goals in the face of disruptions.

If you received a stimulus check and are lucky enough to not have an urgent need for it, there are several productive ways to use your newfound extra funds. Choose from investment options including stocks and physical assets—or consider investing in yourself.

One-third of tenants reportedly missed April’s rent payment deadlines. In these stressful times, how widespread are payment issues and how should landlords handle late payments?

In a recent BiggerPockets Podcast, a listener wrote in and asked, “An investor I follow online said that the multifamily market has been overpriced for some time and will experience a crash. What do you think about that?” Here’s my take.

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Mill Creek Breaks Ground on Orlando Community

Modera Creative Village. Image courtesy of Mill Creek Residential

The momentum for a major redevelopment of an Orlando neighborhood into a mixed-use district continues with Mill Creek Residential breaking ground on its eight-story community, Modera Creative Village.

Located at 505 Chatham Ave., Modera Creative Village will offer 292 units through studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. The apartments come equipped with 42-inch cabinetry, washer/dryer, and lighted mirrors at the bathroom vanities with some units including movable kitchen islands. The property’s amenities include a pool with outdoor spaces, a fitness center with a yoga area and programming, a clubroom, an outdoor kitchen and dining area, private seating areas, outdoor courtyards and digital package lockers. Mill Creek is anticipating its first move-ins for Creative Village in early 2022.

It’s not Mill Creek’s first time in Orlando as it previously completed the 350-unit Modera Central and began leasing the property in 2018. Outside Orlando, Mill Creek also broke ground on the 350-unit Modera Flagler Village in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in March.

PART OF A CREATIVE VILLAGE

Modera Creative Village is a residential component in an ongoing master project to redevelop the former Amway Arena into a “live, work, learn and play” environment in downtown Orlando. Also named Creative Village, the master plan details a 68-acre transit oriented urban infill neighborhood that combines public schools and universities, student and mixed-income housing, offices, retail space, hotels and public parks and open spaces. Mill Creek’s latest project will also be bordered by the 2.5-acre Central Park that’s part of the master plan that will connect the community to nearby academic, employment and retail locations.

Creative Village is still in its first phase of development that includes $690 million in investments and spans several years. The Phase I projects include more than 350,000 square feet of higher education space, 175,940 square feet of office space, 965 residential units and 640 student housing beds. Creative Village’s full build out is expected to take 15 to 20 years.

Eran Landry, Mill Creek’s vice president of development, said in prepared remarks that Creative Village presents a prime opportunity for immediate growth and will quickly become one of the most desirable places in the downtown Orlando market.

MCR Breaks Ground on 292-Unit Orlando MXU Project

May 15, 2020

Mill Creek Residential has broken ground on Modera Creative Village, a mixed-use apartment community in the Creative Village district of Downtown Orlando.

The eight-story midrise building will feature 292 apartment homes and 10,000 feet of ground floor retail space. Community amenities will include a resort-style pool, 24-hour fitness center with yoga area and fitness programming, clubroom, outdoor kitchen, private seating areas and outdoor courtyards. The project is part of a master development plan to transform the former Amway Arena area into a live-work-play community. First move-ins are scheduled for early 2022.

Modera Creative Village is Mill Creek’s second development community in Orlando after Modera Central in the South Eola neighborhood of Orlando, which began leasing in 2018.

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Tags: Development, Mixed-Use

Triarch Capital Secures $35M Refinance for Miami Office Tower

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May 15, 2020

Triarch Capital Group has secured a $35 million loan to refinance One Turnberry Place, a 137,000-square-foot office building in Miami’s Aventura submarket.

Located at 19495 Biscayne Blvd., the property was built in 1989 and has had a number of capital improvements in recent years. Tenants at the office tower include Bank Leumi, Merrill Lynch, Entertainment Benefits Group and CV Advisors. Amenities include a Chase Bank branch, café and a beauty salon on the ground floor.

Paul Ahmed and Mackenzie Fry of CBRE represented Triarch Capital in the transaction. The lender was a correspondent life insurance company.

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Nearly 88 Percent of Renters Have Paid Rent This Month

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Across the U.S., 87.7 percent of renters have paid full or partial rent by May 13, according to just-released figures from the National Multifamily Housing Council’s rent payment tracker.

The report comes one day after the latest job figures showed 36.5 million Americans have filed for unemployment.

By comparison, during the same time period last year, 89.8 percent of renters paid full or partial rent payments by May 13, 2019. Last week’s report from NMHC, which gave the first look at May’s numbers, showed that 80.2 percent of renters had paid by May 6.

The data was pulled from 11.4 million professionally managed rental units across the country that vary widely by size, type and average rental price. This week’s report is the latest in the series from the NMHC Rent Payment Tracker, an initiative that partners with industry firms Entrata, MRI Software, RealPage, ResMan and Yardi.

While the numbers are encouraging, NMHC President Doug Bibby cautioned that the data does not necessarily reflect conditions for all landlords across the country.

“It’s important to understand that our metric does not capture rent payments for smaller landlords or for affordable and subsidized properties,” said Bibby in prepared remarks.

“These excluded properties are the ones more likely to house residents experiencing financial stress. In addition, as current federal support programs begin to reach their limit, it will be even more critical for Congress to enact a meaningful renter assistance program. It’s the only way to avoid adding a housing crisis to our health and economic crisis.”

Earlier this week, a report from data and analytics firm Amherst found that more than 60 percent of households in the U.S. have not received any housing relief from the government. Leaders in the multifamily industry have continued to call for more federal relief for renters, the need of which has been estimated to be between $76 billion and $100 billion.

Investing Across Sun Belt Markets: Q&A

Ido Blatt, Managing Partner, Sun Holdings Group. Image courtesy of Sun Holdings Group

With a portfolio of more than 5,000 units throughout the U.S., Houston-based Sun Holdings Group is particularly focused on investing in Texas and Georgia. According to Yardi Matrix data, more than half of the company’s holdings are across these states.

Managing Partner Ido Blatt discusses what makes these markets attractive and what investors should do to better manage the current economic disruption. The company recently acquired a 330-unit community in San Antonio amid strained market conditions. Blatt touches on the risks of investing in multifamily assets and why he considers San Antonio more resilient than other metros.

What led you to invest in the Sun Belt and do you plan on expanding to other markets?

Blatt: We gravitate towards the Sun Belt markets due to affordability and job growth, strong economics and warmer weather. Texas has shown a tremendous amount of population growth and job growth in the past few years, which translates into strong apartment demand. However, the main challenge in Texas is the relatively low barriers to entry, which results in elevated supply levels. Additionally, since real estate taxes are higher than other states, coupled with the metro being a non-disclosure state—this combination adds more uncertainty and risk for investors. We continue to look at other states across the Sun Belt markets, specifically Florida and the Carolinas, which often demonstrate strong apartment fundamentals.

Tradehouse at Bulverde Marketplace. Image courtesy of Sun Holdings Group

What are the risks of investing in these trying times?

Blatt: There is a lot of uncertainty with regards to the duration of this crisis and its severity, which in turn makes financial underwriting much more difficult than in normal times. Having said that, as long-term owners, we remain bullish on multifamily as an asset class and even more so on San Antonio. San Antonio has already proven to be more resilient than others due to its steady workforce.

How should housing investors respond to the COVID-19 crisis?

Blatt: Investors should be cautious about transacting at yesterday’s prices and need to adjust downward their rents/occupancies and net operating income assumptions in their underwriting. However, there are still attractive deals out there, if executed at the right basis and allowing for longer-term investment horizons.

What special measures is SYNC Residential—SHG’s management arm—taking to ensure the protection and safety of its staff and residents during the crisis?

Blatt: We have daily staff meetings to debrief newly communicated policies and to ensure our staff is prepared to address resident concerns. We strongly enforce a social distancing protocol and limit amenity access to put our residents’ health first.

What steps do you intend to take for a smooth recovery?

Blatt: We will continue to work with residents on customized payment plans or rent deferments to soften any financial hardship they may be experiencing. Strengthening our relationship with our tenants will assist in renewals and limit our exposure. As investors, we hold off on distributions to our investors and make sure we have ample cash reserves as we need to be disciplined during this crisis.

How would you describe the state of the multifamily sector and how do you see it going forward?

Blatt: As long as the uncertainty sustains and we don’t have a clear path to recover from the pandemic and associated economic crisis, there is a wide range of opinions on values and disconnect between buyers and sellers. Long-term implications of the crisis are higher vacancy rates, stagnant-to-reducing rent levels and increasing delinquency.

Once certainty returns, transaction volume will increase, and the relatively stable income streams of the apartment sector and still relatively attractive yields will lure the surplus of liquidity and create a healthy, competitive landscape.

Philadelphia-Area Community Lands $77M Refi

Meadowbrook Apartments

Lindy Property Management has received a $76.7 million loan to refinance a 531-unit community in the Philadelphia area at a time of subdued multifamily lending activity. Greystone provided the Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting and Servicing loan, with the company’s Dan Sacks originating the transaction and David Fisher of Meridian Capital Group as correspondent.

The community, Meadowbrook Apartments, was originally built in 1968 and is located in the village of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., northeast of Philadelphia. Lindy Property acquired the asset from Korman Communities for $58.5 million in 2012, according to Yardi Matrix.

Located at 1700 Huntingdon Pike, the property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units with modern finishes and in-unit laundry. Amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse and swimming pool along with tennis and volleyball courts. The community is located in Montgomery County’s Abington School District.

The Fannie Mae loan features a 10-year term with interest-only payments. Greystone tapped the government-sponsored enterprise’s Green Rewards program, as the borrower has committed to making energy and water usage improvements to the property, along with other upgrades.

Greystone arranged nearly $63 million in HUD-insured loans for a portfolio of five skilled nursing facilities in Pennsylvania on behalf of Maybrook Holdings earlier this year.

JDP Launches Illinois Student Housing Project

ICON. Image courtesy of JDP

ICON, a student housing development two blocks from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, has broken ground. Jackson Dearborn Partners (JDP) forecasts the $28.4 million, 276-bed ICON to be complete by August 2021, to welcoming first move-ins the following month.

ICON is being developed by JDP in partnership with construction and development services firm Sub4 Development and property management company Green Street Realty.

“Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic was our biggest challenge,” Ryan Tobias, partner & co-founder of JDP, told Multi-Housing News. “Capital markets were essentially frozen for a while during the height of the crisis. We were fortunate that we were well underway with our lender. And while there were some delays, ultimately they worked with us to get the loan closed during very trying times. Housing construction was deemed essential in Illinois during the stay-at-home order, so work continued on the site.

“And again, we were fortunate to have a lender that saw the strengths of the project and sponsorship team, and was willing to look ahead at a brighter future when the property opens for business in fall 2021.”

Unit variety

Situated at 309 E. Springfield Ave., the 163-unit ICON will offer a blend of studio, one-, two-, three and four-bedroom residences, all featuring bed-bath parity. Among the more high-profile amenities is a third-floor amenity deck with outdoor grilling areas, fireplaces and lounge space. JDP tried to ensure a disproportionate number of studio through two-bedroom units.

The firm prioritized “staying away from too many four-bedroom units, which is somewhat of a saturated unit type, and may be less desirable in a post-COVID world,” Tobias said.

The equity was placed through online investment platform CrowdStreet, and used qualified opportunity zone funds. The combination of long-term hold strategy and tax benefits resulted in a full allocation of funds within 28 minutes of the investment’s opening. Alpha Capital CRE furnished construction financing. Three months ago, a University of Illinois graduate recalled his co-founding of the firm now known as Waterton in the middle 1990s.

Belief in the University of Illinois’ long-term viability stood as one factor convincing Jackson Dearborn Partners to move forward with development of a 276-bed student housing community in Champaign.

Remote Work Could Spur Move to Exurbs and Secondary Cities

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May 15, 2020

CRE industry members have wondered aloud what the advent of stay-at-home orders will mean for office use in the long term. Now, Zillow is asking a similar question about the residential sector.

“Where people choose to live has traditionally been tied to where they work, a dynamic that through the past decade spurred extreme home value growth and an affordability crisis in coastal job centers,” according to Zillow. “But the post-pandemic recovery could mitigate or even produce the opposite effect and drive a boom in secondary cities and exurbs, prompted not by a fear of density but by a seismic shift toward remote work.”

A recent Zillow survey conducted by The Harris Poll finds that 75% of Americans working from home due to COVID-19 say they would prefer to continue doing so at least half the time, if given the option, after the pandemic subsides. Two-thirds of employees working from home due to COVID-19 would be at least somewhat likely to consider moving if they had the flexibility to work from home as often as they want.

Many employed Americans are trying to square the desire to work remotely with the functionality and size of their existing homes. Among employees who would consider moving if given the flexibility to work from home, nearly one-third say they would consider moving in order to live in a home with a dedicated office space (31%), to live in a larger home (30%) and to live in a home with more rooms (29%).

A Zillow analysis finds that 46% of current households have a spare bedroom that could be used as an office. But that percentage drops off by more than 10 points in dense, expensive metros such as Los Angeles, New York, San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego, where far fewer homes have spare rooms.

“Moving away from the central core has traditionally offered affordability at the cost of your time and gas money,” said Skylar Olsen, senior principal economist at Zillow. “Relaxing those costs by working remotely could mean more households choose those larger homes farther out, easing price pressure on urban and inner suburban areas.”

She added, though, “That means they’d also be moving farther from a wider variety of restaurants, shops, yoga studios and art galleries. Given the value many place on access to such amenities, we’re not talking about the rise of the rural homesteader on a large scale. Future growth under broader remote work would still favor suburban communities or secondary cities that offer those amenities along with more spacious homes and larger lots.”

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BiggerPockets Podcast 382.5: Surviving When the BRRRR Hits the Fan with Josiah Smelser (Part 2, Post-Coronavirus)

Tucker Merrihew discusses how to flip, wholesale, and buy rentals in a tough economy. More than qualified to tackle this subject, he launched his real estate business right before the Great Recession. Learn which properties to avoid, price ranges to target, and why renovating old homes is risky r…

Brandon and David host a panel discussion with three seasoned investors that touches on topics such as exact scripts for communicating with non-paying residents, strategies for connecting tenants to government resources, an explanation of “deferment” vs. “forbearance,” and much more.

There are plenty of opinions about where the real estate market is headed. But what about the numbers? Dave Meyer—real estate investor and BiggerPockets’ VP of Growth and Analytics—shares findings from BPInsights, new data-focused content and tools surrounding rental market updates, national pric…

With a recession underway, we turn to an investor with 30 years’ experience, 3,000+ multifamily units, and one of the sharpest minds in real estate. Brian Burke offers his interpretation of current events and guides us through how to invest passively without violating Warren Buffett’s “Never Lose…

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S&H Realty Ends 25-Year Hold on Corpus Christi Apartments

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May 15, 2020

Berkadia arranged the sale of Regency Square, a 240-unit garden-style multifamily property in Corpus Christi, for an undisclosed sum. Kelly Witherspoon and Justin Cole of Berkadia’s Austin office completed the sale on behalf of the seller, Minnesota-based S&H Realty Management. The buyer was Texas-based 3CM Multifamily.

“This was a very unique opportunity in that the seller had owned the asset for more than 25 years,” said Witherspoon. “Given heavy interest before we officially came to market, the property was taken before we got that far. Well located, first generation value-add opportunities are hard to find, and they continue to be in high demand in the Corpus Christi MSA.”

John Bollinger, CEO of 3CM Multifamily, said, “We are completing a significant amount of capital improvements. Then we are rebranding the property, to be called Aventine Corpus Christi.”

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Evergreen Adds Nearly 1,000 Units to Management Portfolio

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May 15, 2020

Evergreen Real Estate Group has been retained to manage affordable housing communities comprising a total of 971 units across Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The assignments include a mix of affordable housing for families, seniors and disabled individuals, expanding Evergreen’s management portfolio to 8,500 units throughout the U.S.

The new management assignments include the following properties:

• Oso Apartments, 48 units Chicago
• Humboldt Ridge Apartments 10 units, Chicago
• Independence Apartments, 44 units, Chicago
• Northtown Apartments, 44 units, Chicago
• Oakridge Village Apartments, 90 units, Antioch, IL
• Holmes Greenway Housing, 54 units, Minneapolis
• Eastridge Estates, 126 units, Rochester, MN
• Oak Park Village Apartments, 100 units, St. Louis Park, MN
• Pelham Manor, 101 units, Toledo, OH
• Greenview Gardens Apartments 137 units, Butler, PA
• Golda Meir House, 127 units, Milwaukee

As property manager, Evergreen will oversee site-level operations and, in some communities, spearhead capital improvements using low-income housing tax credits and other subsidies.

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Tags: Affordable, Apartments & Multifamily

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Oko Group Breaks Ground on 47-Story Condo Tower in Brickell

May 14, 2020

Oko Group has broken ground on the Una Residences, a 47-story, 135-unit condo project in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. The project is the first major condo project to start construction in Miami’s urban core in 2020.

Located at 175 S.E. 25th Road, Oko Group purchased the 1-acre site for $48 million in 2015. The property will include two penthouses with units ranging in size from 1,100 to 4,786 square feet. Prices will start at $2 million.

Amenities at Una Residences will include several pools, a fitness center, a spa, yoga studio and a marina. Residents will also have access to the Grand Bay Club along the beach in Key Biscayne. The project is slated to be completed by early 2023.

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Broward Senior Living Facility Trades for a Discounted $56M

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May 14, 2020

Parkland FL Senior Housing Propco, an affiliate of Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors, has acquired Aston Gardens at Parkland Commons, a 325-unit senior living facility in Parkland. The sales price was $55.7 million.

The seller was a subsidiary of Welltower, which had acquired the property for $78.6 million in 2015. The Toledo, Ohio-based REIT has recently felt pressure on its national senior living portfolio as the Covid-19 pandemic has made it difficult to secure new residents. Occupancy rates have recently declined.

Built in 2002, the 349,250-square-foot facility was constructed in 2002 and has independent living, assisted living and memory care units.

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Suburban Nashville Apartments Land $30M Loan

Preston Run Apartments

Michelson Org. has received a $30.3 million financing package for Preston Run Apartments, a 238-unit community in Goodlettsville, Tenn. Walker & Dunlop originated the Fannie Mae note, according to public records. The Class A asset last changed hands in 2007, when the borrower acquired it for $24.1 million from King Management Solutions, Yardi Matrix shows.

Located on 18 acres at 333 Northcreek Blvd., the community’s nine buildings delivered in 2004. The property has one- to three-bedroom floorplans. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, media room, business center and dog park. The community is within 1 mile of Interstate 65 and 14 miles north of downtown Nashville. The Long Hollow Pike retail corridor is 1 mile north, home to a variety of shopping and dining establishments as well as several hotels.

Nashville’s multifamily market started the year on a strong footing, both in terms of investment and loan origination volume. While activity has now slowed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, some $520 million in deals closed in the first quarter.

KBS Sells 453-Unit Salt Lake City Community

Hardware Apartments. Image courtesy of KBS

Oakmont Properties has acquired Hardware Apartments, a 453-unit luxury community in Salt Lake City, Utah, from KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III. The recently completed property, located at 455 W. 200 N., changed hands for an undisclosed amount in an off-market deal.

The sale took place despite severe economic uncertainties over the last couple of months. Rod Richerson, KBS’s regional president for the Western United States, noted in a statement that Oakmont Properties lost its lender at the last moment, so KBS provided short-term market rate seller financing to help complete the deal.

Private equity real estate firm KBS partnered with local developer Salt Development on the project, starting construction on the 267-unit first phase, Hardware West, in mid-2016 and wrapping up in June 2018. Hardware East, the 186-unit Phase II, was completed shortly before the sale. The property forms part of the Hardware Village development near downtown Salt Lake City, adjacent to the Salt Lake Hardware Building, a KBS-owned warehouse building that has been converted for office use.

The community features a variety of penthouses, lofts, studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments, townhomes and brownstone row houses, along with a high-end amenity package that include a fitness center and rooftop lounge with an infinity pool. The 4.3-acre site is located steps away from the North Temple Station of the TRAX light rail system as well as Trolley Square and Liberty Park.

BiggerPockets Podcast 382: No Money Down BRRRR Investing with Josiah Smelser (Part 1, Recorded Pre-Coronavirus)

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Southeast Jacksonville Community Gets $75M Loan

Bentley Green. Image via Google Maps

Starwood Capital Group has received a $74.8 million Freddie Mac loan for the 820-unit Bentley Green in Jacksonville, Fla., according to Yardi Matrix information. Newmark Knight Frank originated the 10-year financing, which will retire existing debt. The owner purchased the asset in 2017 as part of a $2.8 billion, 11-property portfolio from The Milestone Group.

Located at 8214 Princeton Square Blvd. E. within walking distance of dining and retail options, the community is less than a mile from Interstate 95, some 11 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville. Completed in 1984, the community comprises one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in 63 two-story buildings spread across a roughly 48-acre site. Units range in size from 500 to 1,100 square feet, and common-area amenities include four pools, two fitness centers, a tennis court, a dog park and a playground.

Starwood has been active this year, with several high-profile acquisitions in the South. The investor’s $140 million purchase of the 994-unit Nashboro Village was Nashville, Tenn.’s largest transaction of the first quarter.