TODAY’S DEALS: Balfour Beatty, Texas A&M Close $104M for 1,274-Bed Development
Balfour Beatty and Texas A&M kick off a public-private partnership development; Virtú Investments buys 112 units in Colorado; and Eastern Consolidated markets a development site in Long Island City, N.Y.
College Station, Texas—The first phase of a public-private partnership student housing development is moving forward at Texas A&M thanks to $104 million in tax-exempt bonds facilitated by Balfour Beatty Investments. Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions is leading the development, and Balfour Beatty Construction is the design/build partner on the project.
Phase one will feature 1,274 beds configured in apartment designs, as well as community areas that will house residence life officers and other amenities for the school’s undergraduates. Construction activity is slated to begin immediately, and the project will open in August 2015.
“This is an exciting project that harnesses the significant capabilities of both Balfour Beatty’s Investments and Construction teams to deliver a creative development and financing solution that meets the University’s specific goals,” says Jim Short, senior vice president for Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions. “We’ve worked closely with University representatives and are very pleased with the ultimate design which will result in an exceptional living environment for the students at Texas A&M.”
The structure involves a public-private partnership on a long-term ground lease with Texas A&M. The university’s resident life will manage the housing, RBC Capital Markets served as the underwriter for the issuance of the bonds.
Virtú Investments buys 112 units in Colorado
Durango, Colo.—Hillcrest Apartments, a 112-unit community located in the southwest Colorado city of Durango, has traded hands for $14.5 million. Arizona-based Butte Companies was the seller. Virtú Investments, a California-based national investor, was the buyer. ARA represented the seller in the transaction.
“There was significant interest in Hillcrest due to it being the newest property in the market and over 100 units,” says ARA’s Shane Ozment. “It is virtually impossible to build in the city of Durango, especially a community of this size due to construction costs and the shortage of buildable ground.”
Ozment worked alongside Terrance Hunt and Andy Helmman on the transaction.
Constructed in 2002, Hillcrest Apartments is the newest community in Durango and one of the only apartment communities located in the area. The property is within minutes of Durango’s largest employers as well as just steps away from the Fort Lewis College campus.
Eastern Consolidated markets development site in Long Island City, N.Y.
New York—Eastern Consolidated has been named the exclusive agent to market the sale of 37-29 31st Street & 37-26 32nd Street in Long Island City for $10.35 million.
The as-of-right, block-through development site is comprised of two separate, contiguous properties totaling 50,500 square feet.
“Coupling 37-29 31st Street and 37-26 32nd Street optimizes the site’s development and investment potential within this bustling area of Long Island City,” says Peter Carillo, a senior director of the Investment Sales Division at Eastern Consolidated, who along with Associate Director Chad Sinsheimer exclusively represents the two owners, Abbeys Automate Inc. and The Cosma Family, whom they convinced to sell the properties together. “This is a tremendous opportunity within a submarket that continues to see a steady flow of new residential and commercial development.”
Both properties will be delivered vacant or subject to short-term lease back agreements at the time of sale, depending on the purchaser’s desired structure while new development plans are being pursued. The current residents occupying each property have leases expiring before the end of the year.
The property is conveniently located within one and a half blocks of the N, Q 39th Avenue and 36th Avenue stations, in close proximity to Queensboro Plaza and minutes from Midtown Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal.