Out-of-state mortgage banking company arranges financing for Lakewood apts.

An Ohio-based commercial and multifamily mortgage banking company completed a $47.6 million direct bond purchase for an affordable housing complex in Lakewood.

Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC, a subsidiary of Enterprise Community Investment Inc., worked on behalf of the borrower, Zocalo Development, to purchase the tax-exempt and taxable bonds. The bonds are being used to finance the construction of Notable, a proposed, five-story, 218-unit affordable housing complex.

Anthea Martin of Bellwether Enterprise’s Denver office originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, while Jim Gillespie and Ilya Weinstein of Bellwether Enterprise’s New York Office led the private placement. Metro West Housing Solutions qualified the property for the statutory exemption. RBC Community was the equity syndicator and Colorado Housing and Finance Authority was the bond issuer for the deal.

The loan will be used to develop the 6-acre plot at 730 Simms St., which currently houses an empty four-story commercial office building that has been fully gutted in anticipation of repurposing the property into Notable.

According to David Zucker, chief executive officer at Zocalo, the proposed development is a direct response to discussions with members of the neighborhood organization who suggested a performing-arts focus to the project and created an introduction to the Lakewood School of Music. Zocalo’s goal is to create a project that offers broader benefits by providing not just a new home to the music school but practice and performance spaces for musicians as well as housing for artists in the community who are being pushed out by the rising cost of living.

The apartment complex will comprise 10 studios, 165 one-bedroom and 43 two-bedroom units. Of those units, 208 will be available for people earning below 60% of the area median income, while the remaining 10 will be available for people earning at or below 50% AMI. The units will include kitchens with garbage disposals and laminate countertops and flooring, carpeted bedrooms, and living rooms with plank vinyl flooring.

The building also will offer community amenities, including a fitness center, art studio, performance studio, rooftop deck, dog washing station, central courtyard and bike storage.

Featured in the October 7-20, 2020, issue of CREJ