Mack-Cali Lands $162M Refinancing Deal For Crystal City Apartments
The owner of a large apartment complex near Amazon HQ2 has just inked a big refinancing deal as it plans to add hundreds of new units to the property.
Roseland Residential Trust, a subsidiary of Mack-Cali, secured a $161.5M loan from Freddie Mac for the 825-unit Crystal House apartment complex, CBRE announced Monday.
CBRE's Michael Sherman, Irene Lu, Michael Riccio, Susan Larkin and Anna Pfau arranged the seven-year, floating-rate loan. The 17-acre Crystal House apartment complex at 1900 South Eads St. sits less than a half-mile from the Crystal City Metro station, and its lobby chandelier is often credited — although perhaps incorrectly — as being the namesake for the neighborhood.
Roseland is looking to benefit from Amazon moving into the neighborhood by adding apartment density to the property. In January 2019, it filed an application to add 798 units to the site, roughly triple the developer's previous plans for the addition. The Arlington County Board approved the project in December.
“This is among the largest multi-family refinancings to occur completely during the COVID crisis, as lenders have been highly concerned about rent collections and the impact of the resulting economic shutdown,” Sherman said in a release. “Valuation, pricing and loan structures have been all over the spectrum."
"Compounding the valuation complexity was a December 2019 rezoning and site plan approval that almost doubled the existing density and significantly impacted assessed value," Sherman added.
