Naples/Fort Myers/Charlotte
Miami money: Miami developer Mast Capital has obtained $65 million in construction financing for a 320-unit Fort Myers apartment complex. The money came from Centerbridge Partners, which served as agent for MassMutual Life Insurance Company. JLL Capital Markets represented Mast and its partner on the deal, BLG Capital Advisors from Chicago. The complex is at 13370 N. Cleveland Ave. The garden style community is already under construction on a 14.5-acre piece of property that was once the site of the Hancock Bridge Square Plaza shopping center. The developer paid $12.8 million for the property in 2022. The development will include three- and four-story buildings in a pedestrian-friendly setting. Mast is an aggressive developer with a portfolio that includes residential, hospitality and commercial properties. This includes more than 4,000 residential units in South Florida, as well as in the Fort Myers and Tampa markets.
Feds lend a hand: Lee County commissioners approved up to $200 million for affordable housing projects last week. It is for the Affordable Housing Development New Construction Program, which will provide grants for the development and preservation of affordable housing units. According to the county, the program will make up to $150 million available for new construction or the purchase and rehab of multifamily units and up to $50 million for the construction of new single-family units. The minimum funding for new construction development will be $4 million with a max award of $20 million. Qualifying projects must have 51% multifamily units occupied by income-eligible households. And 100% of all newly built single-family houses must be sold to income-eligible households. The funding is open to private nonprofit or for-profit developers as well as local governments and public housing authorities. The money for the program comes from Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery funds. The county says it was allocated $1.1 billion by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development following Hurricane Ian.