Northmarq Debt + Equity team led by Chris Hammel arranged the $38 million new construction financing for Evolve Crossing, a 210-unit, Class A multifamily development well-located in Burlington, North Carolina. 

Northmarq arranged financing for the borrower, Evolve Companies, through its relationship with CrossHarbor Capital Partners. 

Planned for completion in 2028, Evolve Crossing will be a Class A, garden-style apartment community featuring one-, two- and three‑bedroom residences with high-end fixtures and finishes. Community amenities will include a resort-style pool with lounge, outdoor kitchens, ample parking, co-working space, full gym with a yoga studio, dog park with pet spa station, and welcoming common areas.

Northmarq recently arranged construction financing for Evolve Companies’ Evolve Wynwood project in Miami. On its website, Evolve says it selects, acquires, develops and constructs properties all over the Southeast.

13th Floor Investments has broken ground on “Venture on the Trail” – a 222-unit garden-style multifamily community in Greenville, South Carolina. Located at 301 Alston Street, the development marks the first phase of 13th Floor’s “On the Trail” mixed-use development slated to rise on 250 acres. CIBC provided $47 million in construction financing to kick-start the project’s development, which is now under construction and slated for completion in 2027. 

Apartments at Venture on the Trail will range from studios- to three-bedroom units measuring between 600 and 1,350 square feet in size.

Community amenities will include a standalone clubhouse, a resort-style pool, two pickleball courts, co-working spaces, an expansive fitness center, and an oversized bike room, with the standout amenity being direct access to the Swamp Rabbit Trail. 

The “On the Trail” property is entitled to accommodate a mix of residential, commercial, retail, and hospitality uses, with future phases currently in planning.

The Q1 2026 retail reports agreed on several things. First, negative net absorption rates were reported across all five write-ups, with the lone exception being CBRE’s “U.S. Retail Figures.” Still, “multiple bankruptcy filings triggered a wave of closures, which added available space to the market,” the CBRE analysts explained.

Second, those bankruptcy backfills are being snapped up by what Colliers “U.S. Retail Figures” write-up called steady demand, adding that a “clear bifurcation persists, with tight availability for spall spaces and more modest availability among large anchor boxes.

Third, the construction pipeline continues to dwindle. JLL, in its “Retail Market Dynamics” report, said that gross deliveries of 7.8 million square feet were “partially offset by 2.6 million square feet of demolitions, comprising obsolete department stores and underperforming strip centers. As a result, net new supply “equated to roughly 5.2 million square feet for the quarter,” the JLL analysts said.

Additional reasons were given for flat rent growth and negative absorption. Newmark’s “Retail Market Conditions & Trends” said that market uncertainty didn’t help matters as “consumer sentiment continues to be negatively affected by lingering inflation, uncertainty about the job market and the impact of the Iran conflict on fuel costs and potentially other prices.” Still, Newmark analysts and others said that retail sales and consumer spending remain in positive territory.

Meanwhile, Cushman & Wakefield’s “MarketBeat” said that first quarters are generally slower for retail leasing, while “severe winter weather may have curtailed activity more than normal this year.”

As for the outlook, all the reports said that continued supply shortages will continue to exert pressure on rent growth. At the same time, consumer sentiment is worth keeping an eye on. “If elevated oil prices persist, higher costs for gasoline, utilities and consumer products are likely to weigh on household budgets and consumer confidence in Q2 and potentially longer,” said Cushman & Wakefield analysts.

JLL added that the supply situation isn’t likely to change anytime soon, adding that “location will matter more than the national average.” All the reports said that the Sun Belt markets outpaced the rest of the country in retail metrics, driven by population growth. “For the remainder of 2026, performance will be less about the market overall, and more about which markets a portfolio is in,” JLL researchers added.

Colliers forecast that limited supply, combined with robust demand, means a quick backfill, though Newmark analysts noted that backfill activity isn’t showing signs of slowing.

Newmark added that stagnant, older retail space could make the case for additional retail construction. But with construction costs still high and rents unable to justify new development, opportunities could exist in redeveloping underperforming centers “through redesign or mixed-use conversion,” which will remove outdated space from the market and “ultimately reduce the total retail footprint,” Newmark researchers said.

Meanwhile, as retailers are likely to remain cautious about near-term leasing while they monitor consumer conditions, Cushman & Wakefield researchers indicated that a broad pullback is unlikely.

“Assuming easing energy prices and a resilient labor market with only modest unemployment increases, retail demand should remain resilient, supporting vacancy stabilization through year-end,” they added.

The multifamily construction pipeline has taken a nosedive to numbers that haven’t been seen in a decade and a half, according to Apartments.com and CoStar. 

Roughly 55,000 units broke ground across the U.S. during the first quarter, the lowest quarterly volume since 2011, as higher development and financing costs and a slowdown in rent growth have limited new construction. 

Only about 579,000 units were underway at the end of the quarter, a 50% decline from the 2023 peak and also back to levels last seen in the mid-2010s.

The free fall in starts comes despite a record wave of office-to-residential conversions sparked by a looming wall of $213B in office loans maturing this year. There are 90,300 units underway via these types of conversions, a 28% increase over a record 2024.

Cities with the most apartment units under construction as of Q1 are New York City, with 43,000 units on the way, followed by 31,000 in Dallas-Fort Worth, which is line with the previous quarter. The cities with the highest development totals compared to the size of their markets, however, are Miami, Charlotte and Tampa, showing Sun Belt development is still alive and well despite years of oversupply.

Southern and Mountain states have the highest amount of new construction in relation to total inventory, with each region’s pipeline topping 3% of supply. They are followed by the Northeast’s 2.7% and the Midwest’s 2.4%. In the Pacific, less than 2% of total supply consists of new builds. 

Many metros are still working through oversupply from the last build cycle. There were 585,200 units delivered in 2024, a multidecade high. Residents are plentiful, though. Up to 300,000 apartments are expected to be absorbed this year.

Multifamily landlords might finally get a chance to breathe with deliveries slowing and lease renewals growing, as many residents are still priced out of buying a home.

Executives at MAA, AvalonBay and Camden Property Trust cited rent-to-income ratios improving on full-year earnings calls for 2025. That is the silver lining in what is expected to be a costly year for multifamily REITs, many of which kicked off 2026 by signaling lower net operating incomes in the year ahead.

That is on top of declines last year. MAA reported NOI fell 1.4% in 2025, and Equity Residential’s fell 0.9%. AvalonBay saw 1.9% growth, but it was below the 2.4% expectation. 

Executives cited a worsening job market and increased economic uncertainty as a drag on profit this year.

TMGOC Ventures inked a $104.5 million loan to facilitate the construction financing for the Ritz-Carlton Savannah, a 15-story luxury hotel located in the heart of Savannah’s Historic District.

Walker & Dunlop Capital Markets Institutional Advisory and Walker & Dunlop Hospitality Advisory partnered to arrange the transaction for TMGOC Ventures. Aaron Appel, Jonathan Schwartz, Keith Kurland, Adam Schwartz, Dustin Stolly, Ari Hirt, Sean Reimer, and Jason Schwartzberg of the Advisory team arranged the capital provided by The LCP Group.

TMGOC will also utilize federal and state historic rehabilitation tax credit programs, allowing for tax credits for qualified expenditures and local property tax abatement programs.

Upon completion, the hotel will comprise the historic redevelopment of the two existing office buildings into a 168-key Ritz-Carlton hotel. Originally constructed in 1911, the property holds the distinction of being downtown Savannah’s first skyscraper, its tallest building, and a designated historic structure.

The property is situated in Savannah’s Historic District.

April 8^th (Scottsdale, AZ) How PHX Deals are Getting Done Today | Submarkets, Supply & the Next Phase of Growth | Owning, Developing & Repositioning Assets:  Join CRE’s leading developers, investors, owners, operators, advisors and more at Connect Phoenix Multifamily, SFR & BTR | Wednesday, April 8^th at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale | www.ConnectPHXMF2026.com

Atlanta hotel developers are working double time to ensure they get their projects done before the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, which are just 15 months away. A Moxy by Marriott is nearing a construction milestone after finishing prepping the lot just six months ago. Urbanize Atlanta reports that as of this week, the 329 Marietta St. Moxy project has about two more stories to rise before topping out. When completed, the hotel will be 10 stories tall. 

Nexera Capital and Emerge Hospitality Group are part of the hotel’s development team, which is being built by Winter Construction. The 183-room hotel will stand next to Hyatt Place Atlanta hotel in a location easily walkable to Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, Georgia World Congress Center, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, among other attractions.

Designs call for a rooftop lounge, a bar at street level, a speakeasy, and several other gathering spaces around the property. It’s the towns second Moxy by Marriott.

Green River Builders and ARC Multifamily Group obtained a construction loan, allowing them to proceed with a 282-unit multifamily development in Monroe, Georgia. The $42.7 million loan is for The Jax, a garden-style apartment complex. Green River is based in Monroe, about 20 minutes east of Atlanta.

Blake Cohen and Charlie Clark with CBRE Capital Markets’ Debt & Structured Finance in Atlanta represented the borrowers. Peachtree Group provided the two-and-a-half-year full-term, interest-only loan at approximately 74% loan-to-cost. The loan was also structured with an earnout based on completion and leasing hurdles.

Located at 200 Aycock Avenue, the project will comprise seven three-story residential buildings with one-, two-, and three-bedroom floorplans averaging 1,117 square feet. Community amenities include a business center, clubhouse, pool, fitness center, volleyball court, picnic area, EV charging, and a breakfast/coffee concierge.

ARC Multifamily invests in multifamily properties throughout the Southeast United States. 

Skanska has signed a contract with the Texas A&M University System to construct the new Meat Science and Technology Center on their campus. The contract is worth $91 million. 

The new building will be a 73,500 gross square-foot facility that will provide AgriLife, a research and educational agency within the Texas A&M University System, with modern, state-of-the-art processing capabilities. 

The facility will support the next generation of food safety and nutritional quality research in meat science. It will feature an auditorium, laboratories, training classrooms, seminar spaces, and offices designed for graduate students and faculty.

Work is slated to begin in December 2025 and is expected to reach completion in January 2028.

Dwight Mortgage Trust, the affiliate REIT of Dwight Capital, has provided a $148-million construction loan for Sutphin II, a planned 524-unit luxury high-rise apartment building in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens. Steven Hersko of the SHB Group arranged the loan on behalf of the developer, a partnership led by Moshe Braver.

The development consists of one 24-story building that will feature 366 market-rate units, 158 affordable units ranging from one to three bedrooms and 7,750 square feet of ground-floor retail. The community will offer premium amenities, including a parking garage, rooftop space, gym and yoga studio, business center, game room, theater, resident lounge, children’s playroom, pet spa and library.

Sutphin II is located adjacent to the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road train station and within walking distance of multiple subway lines. Upon completion, the project qualifies for a 35-year 421-a tax abatement and Brownfield Redevelopment Tax Credits.

QuadReal Property Group has provided a construction loan to Core Spaces to finance the development of a student housing development at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Hub Packard will provide 15 stories of purpose-built student accommodation totaling over 1,000 beds. QuadReal has previously financed three of Core Spaces’ other student housing developments.

Located at 740 Packard Street, the development is adjacent to the campus, providing easy access to Michigan Union, Michigan Stadium, and the Diag. Construction on Hub Packard is slated to begin in January 2025, with the property set to be completed in June 2027 in time for the 2027-2028 academic year.

“In partnership with Core Spaces, and working closely with TSB Capital Advisors, we are pleased to help deliver student housing at the University of Michigan, which continues to see strong demand for high-quality student accommodations,” said Prashant Raj, Managing Director for U.S. Debt Investments at QuadReal.