Dive Brief:
- Working on behalf of Boylston Properties, The Wilder Companies and entrepreneur Jonathan Bush, commercial real estate capital intermediary Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. (HFF) announced Monday that it has arranged a $324 million construction financing package for the 1-million-square-foot Arsenal Yards project in Watertown, Massachusetts. JP Morgan Asset Management arranged for institutional investors to put up $102 million and come on as joint venture equity partners, and Wells Fargo has agreed to loan developers $222 million.
- The expansion of the former Arsenal Mall will feature 250,000 square feet of retail and dining space, including anchor establishments Roche Bros. and The Majestic Cinema; 200,000 square feet of office and laboratory space; 425 residences and a Hampton by Hilton hotel with 150 rooms. Developers will also overhaul Arsenal Park, a renovation which will provide more access to the Charles River.
- Construction is already underway at Arsenal Yards, and the first phase is expected to open in 2019. In June, another group of investors organized by JPMorgan Chase put $109 million into the project, the New England Real Estate Journal reported. Developers hope nearby corporate headquarters, a Harvard Business School expansion, the new $1 billion Harvard Science and Engineering Complex and a LINX office/laboratory complex will create demand for Arsenal Yards' offerings.
Dive Insight:
Even well-connected developers turn to financial intermediaries to secure commercial real estate loans and equity deals. National Real Estate Investor tracks the volume of loans that these intermediaries arrange each year and ranked Wells Fargo No. 1 with a volume of $48.3 billion in 2017. HFF placed No. 2 on the list with $45.4 billion, followed by CBRE ($41.7 billion), Meridian Capital Group ($35.4 billion), KeyBank Real Estate Capital ($21.8 billion), PNC Real Estate ($21.4 billion) and JLL ($21 billion).
Meridian recently arranged a $502 million construction loan for United Construction & Development Group, FSA Capital and Risland U.S. Holdings, which make up the development team for the $700 million Court Square City View Tower in Long Island City, New York. The 67-story, 802-condominium high-rise is slated to be the tallest residential tower in Queens. Meridian said it was the biggest private loan for a project in the borough as well.
A group of banks including JPMorgan Chase is providing this latest financing for the Court Square project. Developers have secured another loan in the amount of $100 million from the Bank of China.
