Berkadia Secures Equity for Dallas Project
Pivotal Residential and Novu Residential Group are developing the community.
Parse Capital is investing equity in Casona, a 305-unit, Class A multifamily community in Grand Prairie, Texas. Pivotal Residential and Novu Residential Group are developing the project.
The size of the investment could not immediately be learned. Berkadia arranged the deal on behalf of Pivotal and Novu, which plan to break ground on the Dallas-area development this month. The project is slated to be completed by spring 2027. Cody Kirkpatrick, Noam Franklin and Chinmay Bhatt of Berkadia JV Equity & Structured Capital sourced the equity from Parse Capital, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based institutional investment firm focused exclusively on the residential housing sector.
Trustmark National Bank and BOK Financial co-led the debt financing for the Casona on behalf of the two-bank syndication group. Details related to the debt financing were not disclosed.
While the capital markets environment remains challenging, Pivotal and Novu officials noted in a statement that well-located multifamily development opportunities and experienced development teams can still find accretive, cost-effective equity partners. Moreover, the North Texas market is, from a supply-demand standpoint and an investment sales perspective, continuing to outperform on a relative, risk-adjusted basis.
Located at 3800 Robinson Road, Casona will be developed on 18 acres of a 33-acre wooded site. The remaining acreage will be preserved as woodlands to anchor more than 2,000 feet of natural-path walking trails. The developers are planning an amenity package that will include an 11,000-square-foot integrated clubhouse, a resort-style pool with a sun shelf and infinity edge details, a standalone pool pavilion with an indoor/outdoor lounge, a trailhead amenity area with outdoor kitchen facilities and pickleball courts a 5-hole “chip and putt” golf course and quarter-acre dog park with areas for both large and small dogs. Situated at the intersection of Interstate 20 and the President George Bush Turnpike, Casona residents will have easy access to the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
An uptick in equity deals
Developers and owners have been increasingly seeking equity deals to help finance their projects as they grapple with the scarcity of capital available for multifamily deals. Berkadia JV Equity & Structured Capital has arranged the equity on $700 million in total transaction volume over the past four months, including recent closings in Denver, Detroit, New Jersey, Tacoma, Wash., and Reno, Nev. Berkadia’s Kirkpatrick, Franklin and Bhatt have arranged several such deals in the past year. In December, the team secured $13.1 million of preferred equity for Novu backing Novu Jacksonville, a 308-unit multifamily development in Jacksonville, Fla., set for completion in 2026. The source of the equity investment was not disclosed, but Novu officials said they expect the investor to be a long-term strategic partner.
Kirkpatrick, Franklin and Bhatt also helped Wilkinson Corp. secure $13 million in institutional equity in October 2023 to acquire Legacy Park, a 250-unit multifamily property in Brownsburg, Ind. In April 2023, the team secured $24 million in preferred equity for Bela Flor Communities to recapitalize Bella Victoria, a 236-unit luxury multifamily asset in Mesa, Ariz.
