Columbia Pacific Advisors Provides $66M Loan on South Bend Rental Buy
By Mack Burke September 27, 2021 5:59 pm
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H&A Properties has nabbed $66 million in debt from Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Advisors‘ (CPA) bridge lending platform to acquire and renovate a 739-unit apartment community called Prosper Apartments in South Bend, Ind., Commercial Observer has learned.
H&A, a South Bend, Ind.-based investor and developer, announced earlier this month that it had bought Prosper — formerly known as Park Jefferson — with plans to make significant improvements to a community that had suffered from neglect by the previous owners, while also not pricing out current residents.
“We have had our eye on this property for some time, and we are fortunate to partner with the [CPA] on this project,” Avromi Klor, CEO of H&A Properties, said in a statement. “We are no strangers to the South Bend area and believe we can capitalize on the current market to maximize the property’s potential.”
The 47-acre, garden-style multifamily property is located at 3001 East Jefferson Boulevard in South Bend, and is one of the largest and oldest pieces of multifamily real estate in the city. The site includes 28 buildings, comprising more than 634,000 rentable square feet, and a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, which are currently 99 percent leased out, according to information from CPA and H&A.
The property includes a fitness center, an indoor pool, a billiards room, a theater room, a community room, a children’s playground, and a dog park, according to the property’s website and information from CPA.
“An opportunity like this is rare in today’s highly competitive housing market, as quality rental properties with significant upsides are in short supply,” CPA Director of Real Estate Lending, Will Nelson, said. “[With] fully renovated units offering on-site entertainment amenities and outdoor community space, [the property] is a unique value proposition to anyone in the South Bend area.”
The sale of the asset to H&A came as somewhat of a revelation to the surrounding area, as the property had fallen into disrepair under the stewardship of the previous owner and property manager. Residents have complained about water damage and leaks, and a variety of other issues that were never unattended to, and the property has also dealt with a series of fires — some of the fire damage still exists to this day.
“We plan to add something great to an already great community,” H&A Chief Information Officer Hannah Van said in a statement as part of a news release on the firm’s purchase that was shared with local news station WNDU earlier this month.
H&A, which owns a number of properties in South Bend, greater Indiana and Illinois, said in its announcement that it plans to “elevate the property” through a series of renovations, capital improvements and redesign efforts.
The firm said in its release that plans are currently underway and that the newly renovated apartments will fall “within a reasonable price point” and that the property will offer “professionally managed traditional workforce housing options.” The company will offer flexible three- to 13-month lease options as well.
“We want to make this property available to those who make South Bend such a wonderful place to live,” Van said. “In some ways, it’s a thank you for making our city go ‘round.”
Klor said in the release from earlier this month that the company believes in “giving back and we think this investment will be a positive investment in the community…South Bend is our community, too. We might be a national company, but South Bend is our home and we want to do what we can to make it a wonderful place to live.”
Currently monthly rents at the property range from around $675 for 646-square-foot, one-bedroom units to more than $1,250 for 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom residences, according to listings on the property’s website.
Mack Burke can be reached at mburke@commercialobserver.com.
