$61M Loan Secured for Affordable Housing Tower in Miami
Walker & Dunlop has structured the financing for the city’s first 100% income- and rent-restricted residential high-rise, which is being developed in an Opportunity Zone by NR Investments.
MIAMI, FL – Walker & Dunlop Inc. has structured $61 million in financing for the development of Miami’s first 100% income-restricted and rent-restricted residential high-rise, UNI Tower, which is being developed by NR Investments.
Located in a designated Opportunity Zone within Miami’s Wynwood arts and design district, the tower will deliver 252 affordable and workforce housing units, as well as 10,000 square feet of office space and 4,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
“The availability of affordable housing is an issue of national concern,” states Walker & Dunlop’s Jeremy Pino. “Through the creative application of Opportunity Zone incentives, local subsidies and HUD long term construction financing, UNI Tower is an example of how the federal government, local municipalities and private developers can work together to be part of the solution.”
Walker & Dunlop’s capital markets professionals Jeremy Pino, Livingston Hessam, Carl Passmore and Kyle Miller collaborated with the firm’s FHA financing experts David Strange and Keith Melton to arrange the loan through the HUD 221(d)(4) new construction program, which includes both construction and permanent financing in a single loan and mitigates interest rate risk for the developer.
The program’s financing structure additionally allows the firm to take advantage of opportunity zone benefits, if the developer holds the asset for a minimum of ten years. Walker & Dunlop coordinated with the City of Miami to ensure the loan structure aligned with Opportunity Zone requirements.
“We were extremely pleased with the success of this transaction that provided much-needed rent-restricted workforce housing to downtown Miami,” says Keith Melton, senior managing director on Walker & Dunlop’s FHA financing team. “HUD has continued to prioritize projects located within Opportunity Zones through HUD’s 221(d)(4) loan program.”