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ALEXANDRIA, VA-Borrower CommonFund Realty Inc. picked up funding for the development of Carlyle Center with the recent closing of a $44-million financing deal to facilitate the 169,000-sf project. The center sits on a nearly 1.5-acre site--assessed at a value of $8 million--at 1900 Jamieson Ave. within the 80-acre Carlyle Development, just outside of Old Town.

CommonFund relied on the assistance of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP to secure the financing, which was structured as a $35-million construction loan and a $9-million earn out. "HFF helped the borrower structure the earn out based on leasing to ensure a successful close," says HFF's Bill Asbill who, along with colleagues Bob Donhauser and Cary Abod, orchestrated the transaction. Principal Global Investors provided the 5.55% fixed-rate non-recourse loan.

The five-story structure will ultimately feature 95,300 sf of class A office space on the top three floors, 73,000 sf of retail space on the first two floors, a parking facility and storage space. The average vacancy rate for office space in Alexandria's Old Town area is 5.6%, as per Cushman & Wakefield's Third Quarter 2005 MarketBeat Snapshot report. A report by the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership lists the average vacancy rate for retail space in the city as about 5%.