TODAY’S DEALS: JV to Renovate 1.5 MSF Dallas Tower

1401 Elm

Dallas—Today we have a big deal from the Big D. A joint venture between Seth Weinstein of New York-based Olympic Property Partners and Bryan Dorsey of Texas-based BDRC has purchased 1401 Elm in Dallas. The partnership, known as Olympic 1401 Elm Associates, will begin a $170 million renovation project that will turn the iconic 1.5 million-square-foot vacant office tower into a mixed-use residential, retail and office gem.

The City of Dallas likes the idea so much that it has agreed to provide up to $50 Million Dollars of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for the project. The reasoning being that the asset is expected to be a major boost to the downtown area that will accelerate the trend of expanding residential and retail activity.

Scot Farber of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas represented the seller, 1401 Elm Street Holdings, in the sale, and assisted in the successful awarding of the TIF to the new owners.  Thompson & Knight, led by Mark Weibel in Dallas and William M. O’Connor in New York, served as legal counsel to the Olympic joint venture in the acquisition, private sector financing, and public sector TIF financing for the project.

“Now that we have acquired the building we intend to create a center of gravity for new urbanism in downtown Dallas,” says Seth Weinstein, Principal of Olympic Property Partners. “The trend toward increased residential and street retail in downtown Dallas has been moving forward steadily but slowly.  This project will create a quantum leap forward by providing over 500 residential rental apartments, state of the art amenities, beautiful public access areas, as well as multiple restaurants and service retailers that will cater to the resident’s needs not only of this building but for the whole of downtown.”

Ohio apartment asset trades for $11.3M 

Troy, Ohio—Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, the nation’s largest real estate investment services firm, has announced the sale of Towne Park Apartments, a 204-unit Class A Community located in Troy, Ohio. The asset sold for a price of $11.3 million.

Michael Barron, Daniel Burkons, and Joshua Wintermute of the Barron, Burkons, Wintermute Group in Marcus & Millichap’s Cleveland office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller.

According to Barron, “Towne Park is the newest, best located and most amenitized property in this area.”

This 201,528 square-foot property, built in 2004, contains 204 units on more than 12 acres in Troy, OH, 20 minutes north of Dayton.

Aries Capital closes $2.76M acquisition financing under Fannie Mae’s Small Loans program

Chicago–Aries Capital is pleased to announce that Eric Jones, vice president, from the firm’s Chicago office has completed a $2,762,500 loan for the purchasers of a 37-unit apartment complex in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Fannie Mae was the investor in the transaction.

The apartment complex, located at 1944 N. Spaulding, is a courtyard building including a mix of one- to four-bedroom units and is located within the popular Logan Square neighborhood on Chicago’s Northwest Side. The 10-year, non-recourse loan arranged by Aries Capital featured a 30-year amortization and was closed through Aries Capital’s Small Balance Multifamily Program, which offers benefits normally reserved for larger loan amounts and caps third party and legal fees.

The property had expiring agreements with three different subsidy providers, which provided several existing tenants with rent assistance. While these agreements offered significant upside in rent increases, due to the fact that they were expiring, they made underwriting the transaction more challenging because each provider used a completely different method of reporting.

“Because we were familiar with the underwriter’s requirements and process, we were able to successfully consolidate the various leases, vouchers, income statements and paperwork to the lender’s specifications, ultimately securing the necessary financing,” said Jones.

The borrower has broad experience in the multifamily industry. They have completed the development of more than 1,250 residential units, and currently own and operate several properties in Chicago.

“Aries really understood how the underwriter was looking at the income streams, and ultimately helped walk the project through underwriting.” said Justin Greer, principal of Maven Real Estate Partners. “This is a great asset near the 606 trail, and our ability to secure 10-year, non-recourse debt at a favorable interest rate was a real bonus for us. We look forward to working with Eric again soon.”

Aries Capital closed this loan under the Aries Capital Small Balance Multifamily Program. Through this program, clients with properties under $5 million gain financing benefits normally reserved for larger loans. These benefits include non-recourse debt, loan-to-value ratios up to 80 percent, and fixed interest rates for longer terms—5, 7, 10, 15 and 30 years. Additionally, the total cost for third party and legal fees is capped at $4,500 in most markets.