A 353-unit mixed-income apartment development is being described as the first of its kind in North Carolina.
Urban Atlantic has partnered with INLIVIAN, formerly the Charlotte Housing Authority, and its nonprofit development subsidiary, Horizon Development Partners (HDP), on the project.
To advance the development of Trella Uptown in one of Charlotte’s most desirable neighborhoods, the public-private partnership achieved two financings of a single-building structure. The nontraditional approach to securing $83.95 million in construction debt, a public grant, and low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) financing makes it possible to create a building with 70% market-rate apartments integrated with 30% affordable units.
“Trella Uptown is innovative and the first of its kind in the state. It brings us one step closer to realizing our bold vision to provide community-focused, luxury, mixed-income housing in one of Charlotte’s top employment, educational, and cultural centers,” said Fulton Meachem Jr., president and CEO of INLIVIAN.
The development is unique for both the range of incomes served by the project and the financing structure. It’s touted by the developers as the first apartment community to have units serving this wide range of incomes all in one Class A apartment building in a top apartment submarket, spread seamlessly throughout the building. In addition, the affordable and market-rate units are owned and financed separately, but will be constructed as one fully integrated building, according to project partners.
Chase provided two separate construction loans, with $50.6 million for building 247 market units and an additional $16.3 million for the construction of 106 affordable units. The development team partnered with HDP as the market-rate component equity investor and limited partner and Red Stone Equity Partners as the LIHTC syndicator, with Aetna, a CVS Health company, investing $16 million as the LIHTC equity investor. In addition, the city of Charlotte is providing $3.2 million from its Housing Trust Fund, and Mecklenburg County is providing $6 million in an affordable housing grant. HDP will provide a $7.8 million construction loan. Charlotte-based global investment management firm Barings is providing a combined $70.1 million forward permanent loan commitment bifurcated into an affordable and market-rate collateral structure.
Of the 106 affordable housing units, 35 will be for residents earning 80% of the area median income (AMI), approximately $60,300 annually; two will be for residents earning 60% of the AMI, approximately $42,240 annually; 37 will be for residents earning 50% of the AMI, approximately $37,700 annually; and 32 units will be for residents earning 30% of the AMI or less, approximately $22,600 annually. C.O.R.E. Programs will provide supportive services to all residents who earn 30% of the AMI or less.
The seven-story, 330,000-square-foot apartment building features top-flight amenities in the center of Charlotte’s central business district. Conveniently located near employment centers and light-rail stations, Trella Uptown will offer studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, with affordable units dispersed throughout the building. Amenities will include a co-working café, a makerspace, a dog park and a pet spa, a resort-style pool, a fitness studio with a yoga room, and a rooftop recreation deck with grills, lawn games, and pickleball courts, available to all residents. The building’s architectural style pays homage to Uptown’s art deco history.
