Medistar JV Secures $204M Construction Loan for Phoenix Project

Central Station. Image courtesy of Gould Evans

Medistar Corp., GMH Communities and a fund sponsored by CBRE Investment Management have received a $204 million construction loan from CIM Group to finance development of Central Station, a 1 million square-foot mixed-use project and transportation hub in downtown Phoenix that will feature residential apartments and student housing along with office and retail space. Details on the loan, secured through a CIM-managed fund, were not disclosed.

Central Station, which is adjacent to and seamlessly integrates with an existing bus and light-rail transit center, is a public-private partnership with the city of Phoenix. The development partners broke ground on the project in April. Completion is slated for 2024.

The project is located at 300 N. Central Ave. at Van Buren Street and is adjacent to Arizona State University’s downtown Phoenix campus. It is also next to Civic Space Park and within a short distance to major employment centers, the Metro Light Rail and Sky Harbor International Airport.

Central Station will consist of 362 apartments, 435 student housing units with 655 beds and more than 100,000 square feet of office and retail space across two 22- and 33-story towers and a podium. The project will also have 426 subterranean parking spaces. Both buildings will feature smart technology throughout the properties and have access to an outdoor amenity deck with barbeque grills, fire pits and a resort-style pool. The student housing, located in the 22-story tower, will be designed to foster a collaborative living environment and will offer fully furnished residential options from micro studios to four-bedroom units.

The city of Phoenix will retain ownership of the land. The development partners have entered into a long-term lease for the site. The project was designed by Gould Evans and Layton Construction will serve as the general contractor.

CIM Deals

Central Station is not the first deal for CIM Group and Medistar. In July 2021, CIM Group secured a $135.85 million construction loan on behalf of Medistar for the development of a 714-bed student housing complex to primarily serve students at Texas A&M Health Science Houston. The 5-acre mixed-use project is located at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. The 19-story development includes 3,400 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. An adjacent 2,638-space parking garage has 15,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space along with a central plaza and community amenities for visitors.

In a more recent deal, a fund managed by CIM Group provided a $137 million construction loan in April to Kenneth Kai Chang and Jeneration Capital for development of a 42-story mixed-use condominium project in Honolulu. Ililani will have 197 units in a mix of affordable and market-rate residences, a 10-story parking garage and 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.