$31.3M refinancing secured for historic multi-housing community near Bourbon Street
JLL Capital Markets arranged the financing for Hibernia Tower, once the tallest building in the state
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 8, 2021 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has arranged a $31.3 million refinancing for Hibernia Tower, a 175-unit, historic, luxury, high-rise multi-housing community with a ground-floor bank branch and 29,000 square feet of office space in New Orleans, Louisiana.
JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between HRI Properties and Almanac Realty, to secure the three-year, floating-rate loan through Voya Investment Management.
Built as an office building in 1921, the owner purchased the historic landmark in 2005 and, in 2012, completed a comprehensive renovation and conversion of the tower into multi-housing. The famous cupola was renovated in 2018 which restored its original red beacon, which once served as an aviation beacon. Hibernia Tower offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 767 square feet. Apartments feature granite countertops, expansive windows, GE stainless steel appliances, hardwood flooring and oversized closets. The community has a rooftop deck with pool, dining and lounge area and barbecue stations; community room; fitness center; on-site management; controlled access; bike storage and reserved parking in the on-site structured garage.
Located at 812 Gravier St., Hibernia Tower is steps away from Bourbon and Canal streets, which house restaurants and cultural landmarks that define New Orleans and anchor its economy. Residents of the community are within walking distance to a variety of retail, dining, entertainment and employment hubs throughout the famous French Quarter.
The New Orleans MSA’s job growth is expected to be 6.3 percent in 2021 with 31,133 jobs added and more anticipated into 2022 and beyond. An average of 7,813 jobs are anticipated to be added each year through 2024, increasing the expected need for multi-housing such as Hibernia Tower. With less than 300 units expected to come to market in 2022, the submarket could sustain its strong occupancy levels.
The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team that represented the borrower was led by Directors Jesse Wright and Robert Tonnessen, Associate Kenny Cutler and Analyst Joshua Odessky.
“The sponsor has taken advantage of a historically accretive capital markets environment to bring life insurance company financing to a historic, New Orleans, mixed-use asset,” Wright said. “Credit to Voya for providing an incredibly smooth execution which serves as a further testament to capital's demand for opportunities in New Orleans.”
JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm's in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients — whether investment sales and advisory, debt advisory, equity advisory or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,000 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.
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About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. JLL shapes the future of real estate for a better world by using the most advanced technology to create rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.6 billion in 2020, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 92,000 as of June 30, 2021. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.
About HRI Properties
HRI is a diversified, national real estate investment company engaged in the ownership, development and management of upscale branded and independent hotels, luxury apartments, and mixed-use properties in top urban markets in the U.S. HRI has over 38 years of experience managing more than 69 properties nationwide and completing over 90 large-scale hotel, mixed-use and retail projects (totaling more than $3 billion in transaction volume).
About Almanac Realty Investors
Almanac Realty Investors is a privately held real estate investment manager based in New York City. Almanac seeks to capitalize on the continued shift of real estate ownership to integrated entities by providing growth capital investments into public and private companies that own and operate real estate. Almanac targets high-quality companies, management teams and business plans, focusing on creating strong alignment of interests by partnering with existing management teams. In January 2020, Almanac was acquired by Neuberger Berman, helping facilitate growth and providing it with access to best-in-class resources. Neuberger Berman had offices across 36 cities worldwide and approximately $437 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2021.