DealPoint Merrill Obtains $55M for Mall Site Redevelopment
Plans call for the mixed-use property to include nearly 800 multifamily units.
DealPoint Merrill has obtained $55 million in construction financing for the first phase of Belle Oaks Marketplace, a mixed-use development taking shape in Richmond Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
The project will see the redevelopment of the site of the Richmond Town Square Mall into 798 multifamily units, as well as 120,000 square feet of retail space with a 159,000-square-foot grocery store anchor.
Richmond Town Square Mall, developed in the mid-1960s by mall developer Edward John DeBartolo Sr., closed in 2021. The last owner of the mall, Kohan Retail Investment Group, sold the site that same year to DealPoint Merrill.
The first phase will include two buildings totaling 181 units. The property is in a walkable environment near University Circle and major employment centers such as Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University.
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The second phase, which isn’t funded by the recent construction loan, will consist of 312 multifamily units in six separate three- and four-story buildings, in addition to 47,245 square feet of retail and restaurants on about 16 acres, according to DealPoint Merrill. The third phase includes retail and restaurant components on about 26.5 acres, together with an adjoining 160,000-square foot self storage facility operated by Life Storage.
A Walker & Dunlop Capital Markets Real Estate Finance team, led by Ryan Parker, arranged the floating-rate, interest-only construction loan. Genesis Capital provided the funds.
An active multifamily lender
Walker & Dunlop has been an active player in multifamily finance recently. In April, Optima Inc. secured nearly $60 million in construction take-out financing for Optima Verdana, a 100-unit rental community in Wilmette, Ill. The firm arranged the fixed-rate, interest-only Freddie Mac financing.
Also in April, the firm arranged $50.5 million in refinancing for Beachwold Residential’s Gran Bay Apartments, a 308-unit garden-style community in Jacksonville, Fla. Mesa West Capital was the lender.
In April, it arranged two loans with capital from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on behalf of WC Smith. The developer is at work on Crest at Skyland Town Center and The Albemarle, two D.C.-area multifamily properties.
