WASHINGTON, DC-The Bozzuto Group recently broke ground on a mixed-use project in Northwest DC, Cathedral Commons, having secured $91 million in construction and permanent financing. Cathedral Commons will include 137 apartments, eight townhomes, 128,000 square feet of retail, and more than 500 parking spaces. The project will be anchored by a 56,000-square-foot Giant Food. The $130-million project is a joint venture between Bozzuto Development, Southside Investment Partners and Giant Food of Landover, MD, which has maintained a store at that location for more than 50 years.

The four-acre development is located on Wisconsin Avenue between Macomb Street and Idaho Avenue in Northwest Washington, DC. The residence portion of the project will deliver in Fall of 2014. Bozzuto Building Co. is the general contractor for the development and the apartment homes will be managed by Bozzuto Management Co. The project recently secured a 13-year, fixed-rate financing from Northwestern Mutual, arranged by HFF.

In general, while multifamily construction is a hot area for commercial real estate, financing has not quite caught up--at least on a national basis. That was one of the findings of the National Multi Housing Council's Quarterly Survey of Apartment Market Conditions, released this summer. Financing is available, but only for top markets. Only 16% of respondents to NMHC’s survey reported acquisition capital being available in all markets at all times. Even fewer (10%) stated that construction capital was available across markets. The majority reported that acquisition financing (65%) and construction financing (52%) was only available in top-tier markets.