Amid ongoing discussions about housing and urban development, Hines, the international real estate investment firm, has officially begun construction on phase one of Riverwalk San Diego. This initial phase of the massive 200-acre mixed-use village in Mission Valley is set to include over 700 new homes, a statement from Hines outlined. Partnered with entities like Affinius Capital, Bank OZK, Related Fund Management, and Heitman, the project marks a substantial bet on the future of the living sector in the area.
The project had recently locked down $380 million in construction financing, designed to help literally lay the groundwork for a new urban ecosystem. Bank OZK granted a $278 million senior loan, while a mezzanine loan of $102 million came from Related Fund Management through its Related Real Estate Debt Fund IV. Despite the past period of uncertainty that has characteristically marked the real estate market, Aram Zakian, Managing Director, Originations at Bank OZK, confirmed to Riverwalk San Diego, “This financing underscores our confidence in the project’s strong fundamentals and long-term value.”
The visionary project is ambitious, with 721 market-rate multifamily homes, including a mix of apartments and townhomes, spread across four buildings. Notably, phase one also fortifies the community with 75,000 square feet of grocery-anchored retail space and extends beyond housing to include The Becker, a 190-home affordable housing community, currently being developed in collaboration with Wakeland Housing. On an infrastructural note, the project is integrating a new trolley station on the MTS Green Line, per a $41.1 million Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities grant, which escalated its timeline from a later project phase…