Atlanta-based Catalyst Development Partners has 11.46 acres under contract near UCF with newly-filed plans for multifamily, and will begin seeking a construction loan this week for the $42 million project, a partner with the company told GrowthSpotter.
Located northeast of the intersection of E. Colonial and Bonneville drives, the property had rezoning approved in December by Orange County from Office use to Multifamily-Residential and Retail.
Catalyst will be buying the 11.46-acre portion for its apartments, with a closing projected for March, said partner Rob Meyer. A contiguous 5.5 acres are under contract to an unconfirmed retail developer by the properties’ co-owners Luk Yeung, Inc. (Hoi-Sang Yeung) and Orlando Pickett 2 LLC (Angel Ham), based out of Coral Gables and Weston, respectively.
Catalyst filed a new Development Plan on Dec. 29 for 296 apartments, with a projected makeup of 168 one-bedroom/studios, and 128 two-bedrooms.
The property will mirror the design and style of Catalyst’s last multifamily project built locally in 2015, the 296-unit EOS Orlando apartments based northwest of the corner of Colonial Drive and S.R. 408, just a few miles to the west of this new site.
“Our thesis with the first EOS property was that there had been no new market rate multifamily built in the UCF submarket since back around 2006. While there’s been lots of student housing there’s been no market rate, despite all the high-level job generators near there,” Meyer said. “We had such success with EOS’ lease-up that we decided to build another, because that submarket is still under-served.”
Catalyst sold EOS Orlando on Dec. 19 for $52 million to New Jersey-based Raia Properties Corporation.
The new property will mix design features of garden-style multifamily and a higher density parking deck wrap.
Two four-story buildings will have open breezeways and multiple courtyards. Though no parking deck, the buildings will have multiple elevators throughout, and amenities like a fully furnished clubhouse, swimming pool and fire pit, two-story fitness center and “media caves” throughout.
The company is now completing its engineering designs for construction permit applications, which will follow a DP approval in the coming months. Meyer estimates a groundbreaking could occur early this summer.
Total investment in the project is projected near $42 million, with The Carlyle Group an equity investment partner, Meyer said. Catalyst expects to finance at 65 percent loan-to-cost.
“We’re heading into the market this week for a construction loan,” he said. “We’ll have a short list of lenders we do business with regularly that we’ll show it to first.”
The developer has also not signed a general contractor for the project, but is likely to favor Summit Contracting Group out of Jacksonville, which served as GC on EOS, Meyer said.
This will be Catalyst’s second new development in Orlando this investment cycle, with a property closing expected in Winter Springs in March for another multifamily project.
Kimley Horn is civil engineer on the project and Humphreys & Partners is the architect.
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