Fairstead Nabs $64M to Buy, Redevelop Naples Seniors Housing Property
By Mack Burke February 11, 2021 10:45 am
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Multifamily investor and developer Fairstead is ready to take on an $85 million redevelopment of an affordable seniors housing asset in Naples, Fla., after securing around $64 million in agency-led, tax-credit financing to make it happen, Commercial Observer has learned.
Fairstead was able to lock in $64 million in financing for its $59.5 million purchase of Goodlette Arms Apartments, a 250-unit affordable seniors housing asset at 948 Goodlette-Frank Road in Naples, from Full Circle Communities, with plans to inject a further $25 million into redeveloping it. This deal marks Fairstead’s eighth acquisition of an affordable seniors housing development in the south Florida region in the last 12 months.
The financing came via the issuance of $64 million in tax-exempt bonds and 4 percent federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) from the area’s housing authority, Collier County Housing Finance Authority. Regions Bank stepped in as the LIHTC investor, while Berkadia acted as the bond purchaser, backed by Freddie Mac (FMCC), sources told CO.
The LIHTC program was created in 1986 as a way to spur developers to create more affordable housing units by providing tax incentives; the program is superintended by the Internal Revenue Service. Fairstead’s purchase and financing will maintain affordability at the property for at least the next four decades, per information from Fairstead.
Goodlette Arms rents to seniors and individuals with disabilities, and it has a management office that provides “a variety of supportive services to residents, including health and wellness programs, on-site meals, five-day-a-week van transportation to doctor’s appointments, pharmacy visits, supermarket trips and other errands, education programs,” among other “activities,” according to Fairstead.
Fairstead’s $25 million renovation plans include upgrading all of the site’s 250 residences, as well as common areas, with a slant toward “energy, sustainability and property resiliency measures,” per information from the firm.
“Naples is an amazing town, a great place to live, especially for seniors, and our purchase and subsequent renovation of Goodlette Arms Apartments will ensure that there are much-needed high quality, affordable options within this wonderful community,” Will Blodgett, Fairstead’s founding partner, said in a statement. “We are beyond grateful to be able to provide the area with a first-class senior residential complex, and continue to allow Goodlette Arms’ residents to live affordably, safely and independently with great comradery and amenities for many years to come. We look forward to being a part of this wonderful community.”
The firm’s vision includes fountains and waterways on site, an upgraded community center, a fitness center, a salon, a computer lab and an area for bike storage. The redevelopment will also see each of the unit’s kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, lighting, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems upgraded. The firm will also usher in new outdoor amenities, such as a community garden, lighted walking paths and equipment that will facilitate outdoor exercise. Fairstead also has a goal to reduce the property’s carbon emissions by more than 30 percent over three years.
