The Connor Group makes $101.6 million buy. Luxury community opens near LYNX station. Read our September selection of Charlotte must-knows.

Real estate hummed along across North Carolina in September, as the coronavirus health crisis recorded a slight stabilization, at least when compared to the previous month, with both new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations dropping. Meanwhile, business activity recorded an uptick and the state entered Phase 3 of lifting restrictions on Oct. 2. With the area economy in recovery phase, September also brought significant activity for Charlotte’s multifamily sector, with both transactions and development marking headline-worthy progress. Read our September list of Charlotte must-knows: 

1. DEAL – The Connor Group grows footprint with $101.6 million buy.

The company acquired the 205-unit Cielo and the 266-unit Greenway at Mallard Creek from Weinstein Properties. Newmark Knight Frank secured two Freddie Mac loans totaling $78.7 million, Yardi Matrix shows. Located at 8230 Greenway Village Drive, Greenway at Mallard Creek has one- to three-bedroom apartments in 16 buildings completed in 2004. The LEED Silver-certified Cielo at 4943 Park Road features a variety of floorplans averaging 1,075 square feet.

2. DEAL – Stonebridge pays nearly $41 million for 264-unit asset.

The company bought Magnolia Terrace from RADCO Cos. The transaction was part of a seven-property disposition across the South, with the seller closing all deals on the same day. The buyer secured the acquisition with the help of a $32.6 million Freddie Mac loan, according to Yardi Matrix. Located at 8301 Paces Oaks Blvd., the property consists of 13 three-story buildings completed in 1989. The unit mix features one- to three-bedroom floorplans averaging 917 square feet.

3. DEVELOPMENT – Luxury community opens near University City Boulevard station.

Middleburg Communities and The Mattoni Group broke ground on the 309-unit Mosby University City this March. Regions Bank provided a $38.5 million construction loan for the project, Yardi Matrix shows. Located some 7 miles from the city center at 404 Gallop Lane, the transit-oriented property has one- to three-bedroom apartments in four four-story buildings. Amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, saltwater pool, dog park and spa, as well as a tree sanctuary.

4. DEAL – Taft Family Ventures makes $48 million Matthews purchase.

Dasmen Residential sold the 288-unit Cove at Matthews, the sale being subject to a $38 million Fannie Mae loan from Arbor Realty Trust, according to Yardi Matrix. The 1988-built community at 1701 Gander Cove Lane encompasses 28 two- and three-story buildings with one- and two-bedroom floorplans. Amenities include a swimming pool, business center and fitness center, among others. The 21.7-acre property is roughly 11 miles southeast of downtown Charlotte.

5. FINANCING – LIV Development lands $35.5 million for luxury asset near Lake Wylie.

Truist Bank provided the refinancing for the 274-unit Newton Apartments. The developer broke ground on the community in 2017, taking out a $29.1 million construction loan from the same bank, Yardi Matrix shows. Completed earlier this year on 18 acres, the community at 15902 White St. is some 17 miles from downtown Charlotte. The three-story buildings house one- to three-bedroom floorplans averaging 1,036 square feet.

6. DEAL – Student housing community changes hands in $478.7 million portfolio sale.

Preferred Apartment Communities sold the 887-bed Rush to TPG Real Estate Partners in an eight-property portfolio transaction marking PAC’s exit from the student housing sector. The 332-unit community at 9200 University City Blvd. is across from the UNC at Charlotte campus. Completed in 2018, the building features one- to five-bedroom units. Amenities include a swimming pool, fitness center and cyber-lounge with charging stations.

https://www.multihousingnews.com/post/charlotte-multifamily-wrap-up-september-2020/

Mosby University City was built across from a light rail station on the city’s LYNX Blue Line.

Addressing a lack of transit-oriented developments in the city, Middleburg Communities has opened Mosby University City in Charlotte, N.C. The multifamily developer, alongside its joint venture partner The Mattoni Group, broke ground on the site that’s located across from a LYNX Blue Line station in March 2020. The project also secured a $9.3 million construction loan that was arranged by Walker & Dunlop a year prior.

The 309-unit luxury multifamily community is split into four, four-story apartment buildings with one-, two- and three-bed units ranging in size from 748 to 1,418 square feet. The apartments are equipped with Bluetooth keyless entry, Nest thermostats and EnergyStar washers and dryers. The community’s amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, pool house, outdoor kitchen and grilling areas, saltwater pool, dog park and spa, lounge, parking garages and tree sanctuary.

Located at 404 Gallop Lane, Mosby University City was built across from the University City Boulevard station of the city’s LYNX Blue Line light rail service. The community is also roughly 20 minutes away from downtown Charlotte and five minutes away from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Duane Wooldridge, president of Middleburg Management, said in prepared remarks that the community has already seen more than two dozen leases signed within the first weeks.

“We are excited to join the growing number of developers who recognize the importance of transit location,” Wooldridge told Multi-Housing News. “We feel that our leasing thus far has directly benefited from our proximity to transit so we also know the public is embracing it.”

BUILDING MORE MOSBY DEVELOPMENTS

While not a transit-oriented development, Middleburg also began construction on Mosby at Riverlights in December. The 250-unit community is Middleburg’s first foray into the Wilmington market and is expected to be complete in late 2020.

More recently, Middleburg also broke ground on a luxury apartment community in Huntsville, Ala., in June. The developer has been working on Mosby Bridge Street, a 290-unit community with one-, two- and three-bed units, for an expected completion in April 2022.

The developer has obtained a construction loan for the 312-unit project, which it is building in partnership with The Mattoni Group.

Developer The Altman Cos. has closed on construction financing for Altis Ludlam Trail, a 312-unit development in Miami, and will immediately start construction on the Class A project. Comerica Bank provided the loan with Iberia Bank as a participating partner. Although the loan amount was not disclosed, a report in the South Florida Business Journal indicates that it was $55.4 million.

The Altman Cos. is developing the project in partnership with MV Real Estate Holdings and private equity real estate firm The Mattoni Group. Slated for completion in 2022, the six-story property will feature units averaging 820 square feet. Common-area amenities will include a rooftop pool, clubhouse with media room, fitness center, hammock garden, bicycle storage and pet spa.

Altis Ludlam Trail will sit on a roughly 3-acre site at the southeast corner of Southwest 70th Court and Bird Road, west of downtown Miami. The community will form part of the Bird Road development area in the Ludland Trail Corridor District, a former railway corridor once known as the Miami Beltline, which Miami-Dade County is converting into a linear park. The site is located less than a mile from the Palmetto Expressway and two miles from the University of Miami.

In May, The Altman Cos. completed Altis Grand at The Preserve, a 350-unit community in Odessa, Fla. The developer financed the construction with a $39.8 million loan from TD Bank.

https://www.multihousingnews.com/post/altman-cos-starts-work-on-miami-community/

The Altman Companies, a nationally recognized developer, builder, and manager of exceptional rental apartment communities in partnership with The Mattoni Group and Alex Mantecon from MV Real Estate Holdings, announced today that it has closed on its construction loan for their newest development, Altís Ludlam Trail.  Comerica Bank was the lead provider of the loan with Iberia Bank as a participating partner.

Located at the newly created Bird Road development area of the Ludlam Trail Corridor District, Altís Ludlam Trail will consist of 312 ultra-luxe apartments with an average unit size of 820-square feet and is set on approximately 2.74-acres of land. The property will be developed in partnership with The Altman Companies, MV Real Estate Holdings and The Mattoni Group, a private equity real estate investment firm that specializes in placing equity and debt with experienced operating and development partners working on transformative projects.

“We are grateful to our Altman Team, our lenders and equity investors that allowed us to close on this transaction in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Seth Wise, Co-CEO of The Altman Companies. “We will immediately start construction and look forward to bringing an exceptional living experience to this suburban area of Miami-Dade.”

Residents of Altís Ludlam Trail will enjoy Class-A amenities including a rooftop resort-style pool, a pool deck with pavilions and BBQ grills, a rooftop clubhouse with a media room, fitness center and a coffee bar. The community will also feature workspace stations equipped with high-speed internet access, a synthetic turf gaming area, a hammock garden, pet spa and bark park immediately adjacent to the new Ludlam Trail with ample bicycle storage and fix-it station.

Altís Ludlam Trail will be a mixed use, six-story building located in proximity to the 7,500-square feet of retail space facing the well-travelled Bird Road. It will be located less than a mile from the Palmetto Expressway, two miles from the University of Miami and three miles from Coral Gables.

The Ludlam Trail is a former railway corridor that Miami-Dade County is converting into a linear park. The 6-mile stretch of abandoned rail corridor, formerly known as the Miami Beltline, runs next to four public schools, through densely populated neighborhoods, weaving together a network of assets into an interconnected civic realm binding together many different public places and amenities.

Altís Ludlam Trail is set to be completed in 2022. 

http://www.multifamilypress.com/categories/new-construction-and-development/2469-the-altman-companies-closed-on-construction-loan-for-its-newest-development-altis-ludlam-trail

The Altman Cos. broke ground on an apartment complex along the Ludlam Trail in Miami-Dade County after obtaining a $55.4 million construction loan.

Comerica Bank and Iberiabank provided the mortgage to the Boca Raton-based developer, which is co-owned by Fort Lauderdale-based BBX Capital Corp. (NYSE: BBX), for Altís Ludlam Trail. Mattoni Group and Alex Mantecon from MV Real Estate Holders are partners in the development. It is being developed on the 2.74-acre site at the southeast corner of Southwest 70th Court and Bird Road.

It’s on the west side of the Ludlam Trail, a former rail line that the county is transforming into a linear park. Having the residential and retail of Altís at Bird Road will be a great synergy with the pedestrian traffic on the Ludlam Trail, said Seth Wise, co-CEO of Altman.

The project will have 312 apartments and 7,500 square feet of retail. Jeff Roberts, president of Altman Development, said they’ve already had discussions with a national restaurant chain about the space. About 72,000 cars a day pass by the site.

Wise said obtaining a construction loan was more challenging than usual because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lenders wanted to make sure there was still demand in the market, how much competition there would be, and whether construction costs would change drastically. It appears there’s still plenty of demand for apartments in Miami-Dade.

The units would average 820 square feet. Wise said rents would range from $1,600 for a studio to nearly $3,000 for a three-bedroom unit.

Amenities in the six-story project will include a pool deck, grilling stations, a rooftop clubhouse, a media room, a fitness center, a coffee bar, work stations, a synthetic turf gaming area, a pet spa and a dog park.

It is expected to be completed by 2022. An affiliate of Altman is the general contractor.

The developer acquired the property for $9 million in 2018.

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2020/06/10/atlman-breaks-ground-on-ludlam-trail-apartments.html

The development will have 312 apartments

The Altman Companies closed on a $55.4 million construction loan for a Ludlam Trail apartment project.

Altman Companies secured the loan from Comerica Bank and IberiaBank to build the 312-unit apartment complex at 7004 Bird Road near the Ludlam Trail Corridor District, according to a press release.

The six-story building will be on about 2.74 acres of land. The project, known as Altís Ludlam Trail, will also have 7,500 square feet of retail space. Altman Companies is developing the property in a partnership with Alex Mantecon from MV Real Estate Holdings and The Mattoni Group, a private equity real estate investment firm.

The development group purchased the two parcels for Altís Ludlam Trail for a combined $9 million in 2018, records show.

Amenities at Altís Ludlam Trail will include a rooftop resort-style pool, a pool deck with pavilions and barbeque grills, a rooftop clubhouse with a media room, fitness center and a coffee bar. The project will also feature a gaming area, a hammock garden, pet spa and bark park adjacent to the new Ludlam Trail. The average unit size will be 820 square feet, according to the release.

The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

Adjacent to Altís Ludlam Trail, apartment developer Zom Living and its partners closed on a $57.3 million construction loan in May for the first phase of the group’s Ludlam Trail project. The developers plan to build 950 apartments and up to 35,000 square feet of retail space.

The Miami-Dade County Commission approved zoning for commercial and residential developments at major intersections along the six-mile Ludlam Trail in early 2019. The trail runs from Miami International Airport south to Dadeland Station.

Altman Companies has developed, constructed, acquired and managed over 26,000 multifamily units in Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and North Carolina since 1968, according to the release.

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2020/06/10/altman-scores-55m-construction-loan-for-ludlam-trail-project/

Ludlam Trail Phase I LLC, a joint venture between ZOM Living, Scout Capital and Mattoni Group secured a $57.33 million construction loan for the initial phase of mixed-use 965-unit apartment and retail project in south Miami-Dade County. The Santander Bank loan funds the first 338 apartments and ground-floor retail space.

The full build-out of the project will include 28,000 square feet of retail. The developers plan to complete the first phase of the project in early 2020.

The developer says its mixed-use project will be fully developed over three phases, and is envisioned to meet significant residential demand in the growing Bird-Ludlam neighborhood. As part of this first phase, the developer will be completing a critical, half-mile segment of the Ludlam Trail just south of Bird Road, transforming an inactive railroad right-of-way into the cornerstone of this highly-anticipated linear park.

The site is along the 5.6-mile Ludlam Trail linear park, a former railway corridor that Miami-Dade County bought and is converting into a linear park.

The first phase of an apartment and retail project along the Ludlam Trail linear park in south Miami-Dade County will move forward.

The developers obtained a $57.33 million construction loan. Santander Bank awarded the mortgage to Ludlam Trail Phase I LLC, a joint venture between ZOM Living, Scout Capital and Mattoni Group. It will fund the first 338 apartments and the ground-floor retail space.

The Ludlam Trail is a former railway corridor that Miami-Dade County is converting into a linear park. It runs about 5.6 miles from Northwest Seventh Street to Southwest 80th Street. The county purchased most of the trail from Florida East Coast Industries (FECI). The density near the trail was also increase to encourage people to utilize it.

Vincent M. Signorello, founder of Scout, is the former president of FECI.
The developers own 11.3 acres, including 6900 and 6950 Bird Road, 7040 and 7050 S.W. 44th Street, and 7004 S.W. 45th Street.

“Our mixed-use project, which will be fully developed over three phases, will meet significant residential demand in the growing Bird-Ludlam neighborhood,” the developer said in a statement. “As part of this first phase of development, we will be completing the development of a critical, half-mile segment of the Ludlam Trail just south of Bird Road, transforming an inactive railroad right-of-way into the cornerstone of this highly anticipated linear park.”

The developers said they plan to complete the first phase of the project in early 2020.

The full project was approved for 965 apartments and 28,000 square feet of retail, which would be integrated into the Ludlam Trail. The bulk of the retail would be in the later two phases.

The apartment buildings would range from six to height stories and there would be structured parking

https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2020/05/04/developers-nab-57m-loan-to-build-project-along.html

First phase will have 338 apartments, retail space

Zom Living and its partners closed on a $57.3 million construction loan for the first phase of their Ludlam Trail project in Miami-Dade County.

Property records show Ludlam Trail Phase I LLC secured the loan from Santander Bank at the end of April, amid the pandemic. Orlando-based Zom, a multifamily developer, is partnering with Scout Capital and Mattoni Group on the three-phased mixed-use development at Ludlam, just south of Bird Road.

The developers plan to build 950 apartments and up to 35,000 square feet of retail space. The first phase will have 338 apartments and about one-third of the retail space. It’s expected to be delivered in early 2022, said Greg West, CEO of Zom Living, in a statement.

The county is also planning to build a park at Ludlam Trail and Bird Road.

Florida East Coast Industries, which Signorello previously led as CEO, sold the land to the partnership last year for $36 million.

The Miami-Dade County Commission approved zoning for commercial and residential developments at major intersections along the six-mile Ludlam Trail in early 2019. The trail runs from Miami International Airport south to Dadeland Station.

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2020/05/04/zom-living-partners-score-57m-loan-for-ludlam-trail-project/

Population growth in the United States has slowed overall in recent years, but South Florida has continued it’s remarkable and rapid growth.

That growth is spurring demand for more multifamily housing in the region, specifically of the affordable variety, even as the nation faces uncertainty heading into the 2020 presidential election.

“Regardless of what happens in the upcoming election, the demand for multifamily, particularly affordable multifamily in South Florida is deep and wide,” said Anthony Graziano, CEO at IRR ,during Connect South Florida in Miami Feb. 26. “I expect the sector to grow tremendously in 2020 and beyond.”

Graziano noted that while the overall population growth in the United States has slowed to scarcely over replacement level fertility rate, South Florida’s population is growing much faster due to a number of factors. Those factors include favorable state tax policies, job growth and more companies setting up shop in South Florida.

Other CRE expert panelists echoed Graziano’s sentiments during Connect South Florida, which took place at the Rusty Pelican in Key Biscayne.

“We’re seeing growth across sectors,” said Fred Zutel, head of corporate risk & brokering at Willis Towers Watson, while participating in the 2020 Trends and Forecasts panel at Connect South Florida. “Not solely within real estate development and construction, but also with large companies from New York moving here for tax reasons. It’s interesting, because a few years ago we saw a lot of real estate developers switching their condominium plans to multifamily. That has exploded recently. We’re hearing about large projects like shopping malls and hotels on the beach across all asset classes. It doesn’t seem like that is slowing down anytime soon.”

“On the office side, South Florida is really a place now that you need to have on your business card,” said Tere Blanca, CEO at Blanca Commercial Real Estate. “Yes, we’re a smaller tenant type of market, but those tenants that arrive here historically have grown and continue to grow. So, the history of Miami is you open an office with 3,000 square feet and you end up with 30,000 square feet.”

South Florida’s retail market, which has been characterized in recent years by increasing vacancy rates in big box spaces, is expected to continue to rebound.

Spaces previously taken by big box retail tenants will eventually be filled by a combination of smaller and experiential retailers, as well as fitness and medical tenants.

“I think we are well past the question if retail is going to make it,” said Ryan Kratz, president of the Southeast at Colliers. “Our main challenge continues to be filling big box retail space. You can count on two hands, the number of big box retailers that are truly in the market for space right now. So what you do with those spaces is convert it to alternate use. That space will get absorbed, but it is a challenge right now in the marketplace relative to finding big tenants to take big box retail.”

With growth comes development, and Connect South Florida’s final panel of the afternoon discussed Miami’s Mega Projects and featured Adam Tiktin of Tiktin Real Estate Investment Services, Andrew Hellinger of Urban-X Group, and Jeffery Ardizon of The Estate Cos. The panel was moderated by Camilo Nino of LV Lending.

Urban-X Group is currently developing the $425 million River Landing Shops & Residences development in Miami’s Mid River District, a 2.2 million-square-foot mega project which will feature 528 apartment units, 118,000 square feet of office space and 28,000 square feet of riverfront restaurant space, as well as five marinas on the river with water taxi service.

Speaking on the panel, Hellinger explained that the biggest headwinds faced in developing his firm’s project are skyrocketing land costs. Local governments are pushing to include more affordable housing in projects. In order for developers to achieve affordability, land price must be adjusted. One solution developers have offered local planning departments is co-living multifamily concepts. But, Hellinger points out many political leaders have frowned on this concept as a long term viable solution to affordability.

“Developers are struggling to make money in 2020,” said Hellinger, co-principal at Urban-X Group. “Affordable housing is in demand but it’s squeezing the developers.”

“We think that the best amenity today that you can have is price point,” said Ardizon, principal at The Estate Cos. “Developers are struggling today to come up with rental figures that make the deals work.”

*Pictured above (from left to right): Fred Zutel, Ryan Kratz, Michael Fay, Fred Guerra and Tere Blanca participate in the Industry Leaders panel at Connect South Florida.