River Walk Location Sets the Stage for High-Rise Project

A rendering shows the spot where the tower will be located.

SAN ANTONIO, TX—San Antonio is the seventh largest city in the country, and like the other major Texas MSAs, has been putting up strong numbers in job growth, ranking 10th fastest city in jobs growth at 3.2% this past year. San Antonio unemployment sits at only 3.9% and its growth has been fueled by the biosciences, healthcare, aerospace, and information and green technologies. Growth from these industries has insulated it from the woes of the petroleum industry, allowing it to remain largely unlinked to the performance of oil prices. This type of growth has challenged developers to keep up with demand. With that challenge in mind, Dallas-based developer, JMJ Development is sourcing $47 million in debt and equity for the construction of Villita Tower . The 30-story, 201-unit, market-rate multifamily residential development is soon planned for this supply-constrained metro. Villita Tower capitalizes on the tight rental market of San Antonio, but also seeks to deliver a truly unique and luxury product in a rare, iconic River Walk location. The project sponsor, JMJ Development and its partners, led by principal Tim Barton , has executed a wide range of mid-rise and high-rise residential projects throughout Texas, California, Florida and Massachusetts during the last 20-plus years. Colliers International ‘s structured finance team of Jeffrey Donnelly and Ulrike Ahrens has been retained as exclusive adviser by JMJ Development. Donnelly, executive director with Colliers, tells GlobeSt.com: “The Villita Tower is going to be a state-of-the-art high-rise that is certain to gain the interest as the primary luxury apartment complex in downtown San Antonio. This multifamily project will set itself apart from the downtown market, given its location and amenities. Based on its superlative positioning on the highly sought River Walk, this project will set the bar for luxury living in the downtown area.” Donnelly expects the financing to be finalized by the second quarter of 2016. “The offering has gotten a very strong response in the debt and equity markets with our initial ovations. We think we have a strong case for a HUD 221d4 execution, which would make an already strong pro forma even more compelling. San Antonio is a strong and desirable market for bank balance sheet lenders and insurance companies to lend into, so we’ll have considerable options there, too. Multifamily continues to be the darling asset class among equity investors, interest there as well. We’re still very early days with this offering. In fact, we’ve already gotten viable equity proposals to complete the capital stack. We are excited and we think this financing will come together quickly.” Once financed, Donnelly highlights the appeal of the location that will be the ultimate selling, or in this case, leasing point. “In assessing projects, clients often talk about so-called ‘in-fill’ locations all the time. Rarely do we encounter a site as rare and compelling as Villita Tower. Right at San Antonio’s iconic River Walk on the San Antonio River, the tower will have commanding views of the downtown cityscape. Restaurants and a strong amenity offering will make this an unbeatable proposition. This will be the ‘it’ residence in all of downtown San Antonio. It’s a tremendously exciting project. We are confident the project’s 201 units will lease up immediately,” he says. In addition to JMJ’s many projects in the states, Ahrens points to the dizzying array of international hospitality properties that have been completed. “This is not our clients’ first rodeo,” added Ahrens, a director with Colliers International. “They have executed an impressive array of high-end, luxury residential projects throughout the country. Furthermore, they are also a talented and visionary developer of luxury resort hotels of the absolute highest caliber—including the Rosewood Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico—a stunning execution of a challenging development and an iconic resort property. JMJ Development is uniquely qualified to deliver a resort-caliber residential experience in downtown San Antonio with Villita Tower.”