Related nabs $56M loan to build FATVillage affordable rentals

Related Group scored a $55.7 million construction loan for an affordable housing project in Fort Lauderdale’s FATVillage district.

The Pérez family’s development firm wants to build a 16-story building with 263 units on land at 600 North Andrews Avenue that’s owned by Broward County, according to records. Plans also call for commercial space.

The financing marks progress for the project, called The Gallery at FATVillage, which has been planned since at least 2017. That year, Related and FATVillage investors Doug McCraw and Lutz Hofbauer, who pioneered the neighborhood’s revival, inked a ground lease for the 1.2-acre development site from the county.

Since then, Related and Broward County have amended the lease terms several times, most recently in December when they agreed to a 75-year term, records show.

JPMorgan Chase Bank led a group of financiers that issued the construction loan to the Housing Finance Authority of Broward County, which then loaned the proceeds to Related.
The loan covers a portion of the construction costs. Commercial Observer first reported the deal.

Coconut Grove-based Related is known for its luxury condominium and commercial real estate projects across South Florida, though it also develops affordable and workforce housing through its Related Urban division. The firm, led by Jorge Pérez and one of his sons, Jon Paul Pérez, recently ended its affiliation with Steve Ross’ similarly named Related Companies.

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In Miami’s Little Havana, Pérez’s Related plans another Gallery-branded, below-market rental building. The 12-story Gallery at Marti Park is proposed to have 85 affordable and workforce units at 450 Southwest Fifth Street and 445 Southwest Sixth Street.

Related’s other Fort Lauderdale ventures include the development of a 40-story apartment building downtown, near the firm’s completed Icon las Olas rental tower.

In recent years, long-overlooked areas of Fort Lauderdale have experienced a resurgence of investment and development, giving rise to now popular residential and commercial districts such as Flagler Village, Progresso Village and FATVillage.

FATVillage — which stands for Flagler Art Technology Village, though more recently the branding also has included Food Art Technology Village — extends from Andrews Avenue west to the FEC Railway tracks and from Northeast Fourth Street north to Northeast Sixth Street, according to the district’s website. McCraw and Hofbauer created the district, initially with the intention of it being an arts and tech hub.

Others betting on FATVillage include Alan Hooper and Tim Petrillo’s Urban Street Development and Houston-based Hines. Hooper has for years been assembling properties for a planned mixed-use project across 5.6 acres that is slated to include 835,000 square feet of office, retail and residences. Hines is partnering with Urban Street Development on a seven-story office building planned for a portion of the site.

In Fort Lauderdale’s Historic Sistrunk District, another growing area of the city, Eyal Peretz’s Fuse Group plans the eight-story The Arcadian with 480 apartments.