By John Jordan | Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH, PA—Two major mixed-use revitalization projects in the East End and South Side of the city secured a total of $90 million in financing for their respective ventures from Huntington Bank.
Financing provided to developers Oxford Development Co. and The Mosites Co. will result in the development of 477 multifamily units, the Columbus, OH-based bank reports.
“Pittsburgh has proven time and again the tremendous difference a truly distinct commitment to public and private partnerships can make in transforming our region,” says Huntington Bank Pittsburgh and Ohio Valley President Susan Baker Shipley. “Both Oxford Development Company and The Mosites Company exemplify the lasting value of a strong vision. Engaging regional leadership and neighborhood residents alike, they’ve instilled the wherewithal and ingenuity to reinvent, reshape and reinvigorate our neighborhoods with a world-class commitment to regional growth and prosperity.”
In a joint venture with Morgan Management, The Mosites Co. received $70 million in Huntington-led syndicated loans for related entities of Eastside III. The project is the final phase of a 16-acre master-planned project that will remake six acres of land at Highland and Penn avenues with three buildings comprised of 360 apartments, 554 parking spaces and 43,000 square feet of retail.
New market tax credits obtained by The Mosites Co. are also funding the project, as is a public-private partnership with the City of Pittsburgh through its Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Port Authority of Allegheny County, and the first-ever use of the Commonwealth’s Transit Revitalization Investment District program.
Huntington has also provided Oxford Development Co. with a $20-million construction loan for Hot Metal Flats, a class-A multi-family project comprised of a 117-unit, five-story apartment building, with an integrated 96-stall parking garage located in Pittsburgh’s South Side Works. The unit mix will include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments featuring views of the city, river and/or south-side slopes.
“We continue to see a tremendous amount of multifamily construction in Pittsburgh and in markets across our footprint as the economy improves and with increased desire by young professionals and empty-nesters to live, work and play in urban settings,” said Huntington Senior Vice President and Commercial Real Estate Regional Manager Dave Tetrick. “New developments and office-to-apartment conversions typically funded by multiple public and private sources are proving to be real wins for many cities.”
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership recently reported approximately 2 million square feet of downtown office space has been converted for new use, largely as apartments or hotels, since 2011. According to the PDP, downtown Pittsburgh experienced residential growth of 40.9% between 2000 and 2010 and growth of 10.5% between 2010 and 2013, due to an estimated 824 downtown apartments coming on-line during that time period.
