As result, the company now owns a 54 percent share of the project, according to Jeff Linton, head of corporate communications for Forest City. "This is a different role for us," he tells GlobeSt. "We are clearly holding debt on the project and in a technical sense we are providing financing, but this newly created partnership will also provide an opportunity for us to use our planned community expertise."

Forest City acquired the mezzanine loan at a discount from a lender that needed to liquidate its real estate loan portfolio, Litton says. He declined to the name the lender, but noted that Forest City has previously pursued distressed debt opportunities.

In 2008, for example, another Forest City subsidiary acquired more than 2,500 single-family home lots in San Antonio from Irvine, Calif.-based Standard Pacific Homes. In addition to that project, Forest City has a number of ongoing multifamily projects in downtown Dallas. It has previously invested in Houston, but currently does not have any other projects in the metro area except for Woodforest, Litton says.