A rendering of the planned University Place development at New Jersey City University — Courtesy: Marchetto, Higgins, Stieve Architects
By Joshua Burd
A new 163-unit multifamily property is rising at the campus of New Jersey City University with the help of a $32.5 million construction loan arranged by HFF, the brokerage firm said Thursday.
In a news release, HFF said it arranged the financing for the Jersey City project through M&T Bank. The firm worked on behalf of the development team, a joint venture of The Hampshire Cos., Claremont Cos. and Circle Squared Alternative Investments.
The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Jon Mikula and Managing Director Michael Klein.
“University Place is an exciting new development, which is utilizing an area of Jersey City that is prime for not only the University’s expansion west, but for market-rate housing and retail,” Mikula said in a prepared statement. “We were thrilled to be a part of the first phase of this development.”
Part of NJCU’s West Campus master plan, better known as University Place, the project is three blocks from the school’s main campus. Overall plans for the 22-acre site also include more than 200,000 square feet of retail, 110,000 square feet of education space and a 425-bed student housing community.
The M&T loan is financing the first phase of University Place’s market-rate unit component, which will total about 600 units at full build-out, HFF said. Due for completion later this year, the project will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units along with more than 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 177 parking spaces.
“M&T Bank did a fantastic job getting their arms around this new market and creating a flexible structure that best met the sponsorship’s needs,” Klein said.