Kelsey, Author at Ardent

Ardent Widens Bridge-Lending Focus

01/08/21

Ardent Financial aims to raise at least $300 million of equity for its latest bridge-loan origination vehicle, reflecting the fund manager’s bid to expand opportunistic investments in the wake of the pandemic.

About a month ago, the firm kicked off what’s likely to be a yearlong marketing campaign for Ardent Financial Fund 4. Investors are hearing that Ardent might try to raise as much as $400 million of equity for the new vehicle. With leverage, that would give it roughly $600 million of lending power.

Plans call for closing this month on the first round of equity, totaling $50 million to $100 million. Like its predecessor, the new fund will target middle-market loans tied to construction projects, redevelopments and heavy-transitional properties. However, Fund 4 also will pursue a broader mix of opportunities, putting a greater focus on lower-risk, value-added plays.
Ardent closed last March on the final round of equity for the previous vehicle in the series. With about $180 million of its $213 million of equity deployed so far, Fund 3 is expected to continue originating loans through the end of March.

Some of the equity raised for Fund 4 is likely to come from investors in Fund 2. That $155 million vehicle returned capital on schedule during the second half of last year. The first fund in the series, which had $100 million of equity, was unwound as planned in the fall of 2018.

Ardent intends to write at least $300 million of bridge loans this year, up from about $250 million last year. Typically offering floating rates and terms of up to three years, it originates mostly senior loans ranging from $5 million to $75 million.

Meanwhile, the firm is on track to exceed its $200 million fund-raising goal for Ardent Strategic Fund 1, which targets debt and equity investments tied to distressed assets and liquidity-strapped property owners. After drumming up $172 million since last spring, it’s set to hold a final close this month on about $215 million of equity.

The strategic fund has deployed about $40 million of equity via two investments so far. The vehicle is focused primarily on purchasing outstanding loans and commercial properties at a discount. It may also invest in single-family homes and lots.

The strategic fund and both bridge-loan vehicles charge a 1.5% management fee against deployed capital and no fees prior to investment. After the preferred return to investors in each bridge-loan fund reaches 8%, the manager is entitled to 20% of additional profits. Once investors in the strategic fund realize a net return of 16%, the manager receives 40% of any additional cashflows.

Managing director Daniel Siegel oversees investments for Ardent Financial, a unit of Atlanta-based Ardent Cos. The fund operator’s management team also includes managing director Michael DeGance, who raises capital and handles investor relations. Managing director Christopher Kelly, who opened the firm’s New York office a year ago, helps identify and structure debt originations as part of his responsibilities for new business and product management.

Commercial Mortgage Alert – January 8, 2021

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Ardent Buys South Miami Medical Office Building for $37M

01/07/21

An Atlanta-based real estate investment firm paid $36.7 million for an eight-story South Miami medical office building.

An affiliate of the Ardent Companies bought the building, known as Sunset Medical, at 6262 Sunset Drive, according to records. Ardent is led by Matt Shulman.

The seller is an affiliate of USAA Real Estate Company. The San Antonio-based real estate investment firm bought the building, built in the 1980s, for $40 million in 2015. USAA is led by Len O’Donnell.

The building hit the market unpriced in February, according to an online listing. Occupancy was 55 percent at the time with a net operating income of $1.2 million.

In May, Transwestern Real Estate Services’ South Florida agency leasing team announced it was hired to exclusively lead leasing efforts for the building and reposition it from traditional office to medical office space, according to a statement from the time.

The building had 43,000 square feet of availability at that time, after Interval International consolidated to the top two floors. Interval is an affiliate of Marriott Vacations Worldwide.

Last year, USAA and Codina Partners landed Cargill as a tenant at their new industrial park in Hialeah. In the summer, USAA delivered a $57 million loan to Goldman Sachs’ real estate arm for the $100 million acquisition of the 183-unit rental portion of 1 Flatbush Avenue in New York.

Office rents in South Florida have held steady despite work-from-home policies amid the pandemic.

Other recent office deals in South Florida include HS Capital Fund paying $17.5 million for a Fort Lauderdale office building. The Related Companies is expected to close soon on the Phillips Point office towers in West Palm Beach for $282 million.

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2021/01/07/ardent-buys-south-miami-medical-office-building-for-37m/

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New Photography Exhibit Opening Friday In Roswell

12/02/20

Roswell in Print is a new, outdoor photography exploration in three parts designed to highlight the diverse characteristics of the City of Roswell, using visual storytellers to capture it through imagery and displayed in non-traditional spaces.

The exhibit will open to the public on Friday, and the marketplace for prints is now open. In order to help support the artists, visitors can purchase prints of their favorite photos and 70 percent of all sales will go directly back to the artist.

The ongoing pandemic has kept the doors closed for many traditional spaces dedicated to art but the desire for connection and creative experiences is thriving. Roswell has a wealth of nontraditional outdoor spaces to explore and Roswell Arts Fund, in partnership with the Hagan Family Foundation, Getty Images and the City of the Roswell saw an opportunity to curate unique and unexpected experiences for neighborhoods throughout the city.

“The Hagan Family Foundation is very pleased to have deployed a new public art program with
Roswell Arts Fund,” said Chad Hagan, Hagan Family Foundation. “The images the team selected from the open call and Getty Images are extraordinary. The Roswell Arts Fund has done a lot of hard work to position Roswell as an Atlanta arts hub, and this program is an excellent example of the tremendous value Ghila Sanders and the Arts Fund bring to the city. This is our home, so we will continue to develop and invest in the Roswell art scene along with many other local stakeholders. Over time, I hope to see Roswell develop a premier connection to public art.”

Roswell in Print will have three distinct installations in different outdoor locations that allow for safe and socially distanced experiences. Each exploration will take inspiration from the characteristics that define the community of Roswell: Modern Spirit, Southern Soul. Through an extensive public engagement process, organizers have come to understand that spirit by asking the people of Roswell who they are and what is important to their community. The unique elements that emerged from those conversations became the themes at the core of this photography exhibition.

In each exhibit, the visual storytellers featured will span countries and generations. Organizers hope that these photographs, inspired by Roswell’s essence, will convey a universal message of belonging, a welcoming sense of community that travels beyond city limits and resonates with viewers near and far.

The first exploration will be installed at East Village Shopping Center, made possible through the support and partnership of the redevelopment team ECI Ventures, LLC and The Ardent Company East Village REO, LLC.

“We echo Roswell Arts Fund’s vision of the role art can play in inspiring our community and impacting our economy,” said Todd Terwilliger, Partner at The Ardent Companies. “Ardent and ECI are thrilled to partner in the Roswell in Print photography installation at our East Village redevelopment to highlight the city’s talented artists and their beautiful imagery.”

The first theme photographers were invited to explore was “We Are Our Colors.”

The Public Art Master Plan by the Roswell Arts Fund and the City of Roswell from 2017 states: “Blossoming, vibrant, scenic, consequential, sustainable. Telling our story through artwork and color paints a picture that is lively, vivacious, leafy, and lush. If our city is a canvas for art, our history, physical surroundings, and the spirit of our people are the palette.”

Some images on display were selected from artists who submitted through an open call for entry and additional images are made available through a partnership with Getty Images. All images selected for exhibition will be available for print sales on the Roswell Arts Fund website with 70 percent of the sale going to the artist.

https://patch.com/georgia/roswell/new-photography-exhibit-opening-friday-roswell

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35-Acre Mixed-Use Development Moving Forward in Athens

11/17/20

Plans for a new 35-acre mixed-use development in Athens, Ga., appear to be moving forward.

The property at 100 Newton Bridge Rd. is currently home to the former WestClox manufacturing facility, a current Terrapin Beer warehouse and Wayfair call center with some surface parking and loading docks.

Plans call for a new mixed-use residential, retail, industrial, office and hotel development on the site.

The Athens Clarke County planning commission reviewed plans for the project on Nov. 9. It was also submitted to the state of Georgia on Nov. 16 as a development of regional impact.

Atlanta Business Chronicle reported in 2018 about early plans for the property, which is being redeveloped by The Ardent Cos. and Knotting Developments.

The project is being designed by Smith Planning Group. See renderings here.

In 2019, Ardent announced that Boston online retail giant Wayfair Inc. would occupy a new customer support center on the site.

The property currently has a primary structure and two outbuildings, according to the latest summary of the project. The primary building was constructed in 1954 and an addition was built on the north end in the 1990s. The larger of the two outbuildings is a steel frame structure of approximately 7,000 square feet, while the other outbuilding has a silo form.

The 1990s addition has been converted by Terrapin Beer Company for a new packaging and shipping facility. The southern portion of that addition has been renovated for Wayfair.

“The proposal is to rezone the site … for the construction of a hotel, residential, retail, industrial and office mixed-use development,” the summary says. “The application report indicates the intent to renovate the site by opening up the main building, adding pedestrian improvements, new surface parking and eventually a residential component. The proposal is for flexible space accommodating non-manufacturing uses, while keeping manufacturing to the north (existing) and rear. The remainder of the older portion of the primary structure will have a pedestrian network with professional services or office and retail space. Future residential space is planned in new structures along Newton Bridge Road and for a separate hotel building along the southern end of the property. An outdoor plaza or event space is planned between the main building and Newton Bridge Road, which could be used for events or smaller performances. The intent is to maintain an industrial aesthetic, open up space for flow and incorporate current standards for parking and landscaping.”

The planned residences consist of 100 two-bedroom dwellings and 100 one-bedroom dwellings, according to the summary of the project.

The developers are requesting a waiver to increase the allowable amount of retail and restaurant use from the maximum allowed 10,000 square feet for each use. The amount is undetermined at this time. A waiver is also being requested to allow a theater of under 1,000 seats, according to the summary.

By David Allison – Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle

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Milwaukee Athletic Club Restoration Restarts with Apartments Replacing Hotel Rooms

11/12/20

Contractors got the green light this week to restart work on the Milwaukee Athletic Club’s $61 million restoration after the flare-up of the Covid-19 pandemic in March forced its developers to retool the project with apartments instead of hotel rooms.

The historic building, a longtime hub for networking among the Milwaukee business community, is to reopen in fall 2021, according to a Thursday announcement. The top-to-bottom overhaul will modernize the fitness and social amenities reserved for MAC members, convert five floors in to 54 apartments, and restore or create new restaurant and bar venues that will be open to the public.

Milwaukee developers J. Jeffers & Co. and Interstate Development Partners have been working with the nonprofit MAC on the restoration since 2017. They originally planned to put hotel rooms on the eight through 12th floors where apartments are planned now.

The developers were in the midst of completing financing for that in mid-March when Covid-19’s global disruption of the hospitality industry caused investors to back out. After months of regrouping, the new financing package closed, allowing construction to ramp up again.

“We had to act really fast, and think really creatively, and dig really deep to work together, work with our capital partners, work with the Milwaukee Athletic club to find a new path,” said Josh Jeffers, CEO of Jeffers & Co. “We were driving an ocean liner and had to turn the thing on a dime in order to avoid hitting the icebergs. I’ve never done that before and I’m incredibly proud of our team.”

The MAC building was constructed five years after the Titanic sunk. To finance its renovation, Jeffers and Interstate Development president and CEO Tony Janowiec are using about $15 million in public historic restoration tax credits, construction lending from The Ardent Cos. in Atlanta, and up-front investment, some from MAC members.

The initial push for the project was MAC’s need to repair its aging building and modernize its offerings to attract another generation of members. Many areas of the building will remain members-only, including its fitness facilities and a new rooftop deck with a bar, indoor-outdoor spaces for tables and an outdoor space with a turf floor for anything from weddings to sunrise yoga, Janowiec said.

The enclosed racquetball structure on the roof will become virtual golf suites.

People renting the building’s 54 apartments will gain MAC membership and have access to those members-only amenities, Jeffers said.

“Another effort we have working with the Milwaukee Athletic Club and the membership improvement effort is targeting younger professionals, who also tend to be the primary demographic that is moving downtown right now,” Jeffers said. “It works very well to have one more way to attract that younger professional demographic.”

Other parts of the building will open to the general public for the first time, a move that creates new revenue sources while also making the MAC a stronger activity generator. The historic Elephant Room bar area, for example, will open to the public. The first floor also will gain new public amenities and entrances.

About 17,000 square feet of event halls, including the MAC’s historic grand ballroom, will be restored and can be booked by non-MAC members for events, Janowiec said. The MAC, as a nonprofit owner of the building, wasn’t allowed to do that, he said.

“It would’ve violated their not-for-profit status,” Janowiec said. “This ownership regime and the partnership that has been formed for the project allows the Milwaukee Athletic Club to openly market what I would say is among some of the crown jewels of Milwaukee’s event space.”

The redevelopment group led by Jeffers and Janowiec bought the building from the MAC club organization in 2019. Denver hotel operator Sage Hospitality, a co-developer at that time, was part of that purchase and was to run the hotel in the building. Sage remains financially invested in the project, but has stepped back after the hotel rooms were removed from the project plan.

The MAC developers in July 2019 announced that the Driven Elite training business co-founded by Former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver would run fitness programs in the MAC. Those fitness programs were for MAC members and potentially people staying at the hotel. With the project plan changing and Covid-19 forcing the developers to dial back projections for the fitness operations, Driven Elite may not operate out of the building.

“Driven Elite had been a part of the active sponsorships with the project, but similar to Sage they’ll be shifting to a more passive role in the investment,” Jeffers said. “We really have to keep working through the Covid situation to see exactly how far we can ramp up athletic facilities and that will end up factoring into the role Driven Elite plays.”

Fitness areas on the building’s fifth through seventh floors will be revamped. A two-story tall space with an Olympic-sized swimming pool on the sixth floor will become a high-ceilinged cardio and strength-training facility. A pool in the MAC’s basement, originally built for female MAC members, will be restored and remain in use.

The basketball court, another two-story tall, rare element to find in the middle floors of a downtown high-rise, will remain for members.

Milwaukee-based CG Schmidt is the lead contractor, and Kahler Slater is the project architect.

https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2020/11/12/mac-restoration-restarts-after-apartments-replace.html

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The Ardent Companies Expands Expertise in Acquisitions with New Hire

09/22/20

The Ardent Companies, a $1.3B AUM real estate asset management and investment platform, announces the hiring of industry leader Kevin Holt.

Holt has an impressive track-record within the industry. With a focus on finance and operations, his success stems from his leadership skills and driving teams to exceed revenue goals. Prior to joining Ardent, Holt was a Founding Equity Partner at H&H Hospitality where he led finance and operations while supporting business development to achieve continuous profitable growth in H&H Hospitality’s food & beverage portfolio.

“We’re thrilled to have Kevin join Ardent. He brings unique experience and energy to Ardent that will positively impact our firm, partners, and investors,” said Ardent CEO Matt Shulman. “As we look toward continued growth, our focus on acquisitions is paramount and Kevin is the right addition to this team.”

In addition to professional accolades, Holt is deeply involved in the community. He has served in numerous capacities with organizations focused on civic and economic empowerment. He has been published on industry-related topics and you may find him on panels advocating for how diversity is good for business. Kevin currently serves on the Board of Directors of BWHI, a non-profit focused on minority health disparities.

“I have watched the incredible growth of Ardent from the sidelines and I’m excited to join a fast-growth company and an appetite for thinking outside of the box,” says Holt. “I’m excited to join the team and see what we can do together to provide substantial returns for our investors.”

http://metroatlantaceo.com/news/2020/09/ardent-companies-expands-expertise-acquisitions-new-hire/

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Former Buckhead Houston’s To Be Redeveloped Into High-Rise Project

07/13/20

The former Houston’s restaurant across from Lenox Square, one of the most prized development sites in ritzy Buckhead, has sold to a developer that intends to turn the property into a dense, high-rise project. The Ardent Companies bought the .92-acre property at Lenox and East Paces Ferry for $6.25 million. The site, which also stands across from the Lenox MARTA station, had been marketed in recent years for at least twice as much and generated interest for a new Ritz-Carlton residences and hotel, according to market sources.

Ardent identified the site and completed the acquisition in just 21 days. The Covid-19 pandemic played a role in the sales price and how quickly the deal came together, according to people familiar with the transaction. The former Houston’s restaurant closed more than two years ago. Zoning allows for a high-density project with uses including office, retail, restaurant, apartments and hotel.

Scott Werbel, Managing Director of Acquisitions for Ardent, said, “Our long term plan is to redevelop the site in partnership with an experienced high-density developer. In the short time the property has been under contract, Ardent has had preliminary discussions with Atlanta developers interested in re-developing the site.”

Ross Mehlman, a director at Ardent, assisted Werbel on the acquisition. Lance Bloom, Vice President with Colliers International, also brokered the sale. Ardent continues to expand its Buckhead portfolio. The former Houston’s is the 11th property the real estate company has acquired in the Buckhead area, including Piedmont Center. Founded in 2012, Ardent has $1.8 billion in assets under management across its entire portfolio with offices in Atlanta, Charlotte and New York.

Douglas Sams
Commercial Real Estate Editor
Atlanta Business Chronicle

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