Wood Partners Secures All Financing for Downtown Oakland's
Highly-Anticipated City Walk Development;
Construction
Expected to Resume Next Week
City of Oakland Plays Pivotal Role in Turning Around the
Once-Stalled Project
|
OAKLAND, CALIF. - June 7, 2010 - Wood Partners, L.L.C., one of the nation’s largest and most
successful multifamily real estate companies, has secured all of the financing necessary to
resume the development of City Walk, a marquee apartment and retail project in the heart of
downtown Oakland.
Company officials expect construction to begin next week. This milestone marks a
dramatic turn-around for City Walk, which has stood partially complete for three years following
a bankruptcy filing by the original general contractor. Wood Partners purchased the site just nine
months ago, and since then has worked diligently to assemble the financing and regulatory
approvals to complete the project.
Located just two blocks from Oakland’s City Hall at 1307 Jefferson St., the site is one of
the most visible in downtown. Local officials have long had high hopes that the urban infill
project would be a key part of the city’s ongoing revitalization.
“It’s been a long road, with a number of complex issues to resolve, so it’s very gratifying
to reach this point,” said Frank Middleton, director of the West Coast division of Wood Partners.
“Now we’ll be able to fulfill the potential of this project and deliver a true asset to downtown
Oakland.”
The new community will include 264 Class-A apartment homes in four six-story
buildings, as well as a street-level retail component. Construction could be completed as early as
mid-2011.
Wood Partners is uniquely suited to the task of bringing such complex projects to fruition
in the most difficult of environments. The fifth-largest multi-family developer in the country,
Wood Partners has a successful track record of financing, entitling and building everything from
luxury high-rises to attractive work-force housing. Most of its developments are located in urban,
infill locations – a niche that requires a high degree of financial and regulatory expertise.
Wood Partners purchased the highly distressed property of City Walk in late 2009, and
then faced the task of raising more than $30 million in construction debt.
The City of Oakland played a pivotal role in bringing the financing package together,
agreeing in April to Wood Partners’ request for a $5 million loan. At that point, Wood Partners
had approximately 85 percent of the necessary funding in place. The city loan improved the
project’s debt-to-equity ratio, which in turn allowed Wood Partners to secure the balance of
funding.
“In this economic climate, assembling the right financial package can be difficult,” said
Wood Partners’ Brian Pianca, who is overseeing the project. “The City of Oakland understands
what City Walk means to downtown, and stepped in at a critical juncture to help us get it across
the finish line.”
The project will generate the equivalent of more than 170 full-time onsite jobs, with
another 75 to 100 office workers to support construction. Because the project is partially
complete with most of the material already purchased and on site, the majority of the $39 million
construction budget will go towards wages.
Upon completion, City Walk will offer area residents the first new apartment homes in
the city center in approximately two years. Contemporary in design, with floor-to-ceiling
windows, spacious balconies and an array of thoughtful amenities, City Walk will put residents
within blocks of thousands of jobs, mass transit and a range of shopping and dining options.
As CEO of Wood Partners, Ryan Dearborn is responsible for the firms overall operations and performance. He was promoted to that position after having served as president of Wood’s west division, with oversight of the multifamily development operations of Wood Partners in Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon, and Washington. Since joining Wood Partners, Mr. Dearborn has been a principal in the financing and development of over $2 billion of multifamily communities totaling over 15,000 units in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States.
Mr. Dearborn came to Wood Partners, in 1998, as a Director in development after having served as a Development Partner in Trammell Crow Residential's (TCR) South Division. During his tenure with TCR, he was involved with the financing, development, construction, and/or asset management of over 2,500 multifamily and hotel units in Atlanta.
Prior to graduate school, Mr. Dearborn worked for four years in operations at Avalon Properties, Inc. (formerly TCR-Mid Atlantic). He also worked in the Real Estate Advisory Group of Alex Brown Kleinwort Benson.
Mr. Dearborn holds an MBA degree from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, where he received a Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) fellowship, a Master of Science degree in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University, and a BA degree from the University of Maryland. He currently serves on the ULI Multifamily Council and on the University of Maryland Board of Trustees.
Joseph Keough joined Wood Partners in 2008 as Chief Financial Officer, and now holds the additional title of COO. Before joining Wood Partners, Mr. Keough acted as the Chief Operating Officer of Fuqua Capital where he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fuqua’s family office operations, as well as defining and implementing the firm’s investment strategy across asset classes.
Mr. Keough has also served as the CFO of Weeks-Robinson, an operating company of Fuqua Capital. Weeks-Robinson focuses on industrial and office development and acquisition in high-growth Sunbelt markets.
Prior to joining Fuqua Capital, Mr. Keough served as the Senior Vice President, Development and Investment Strategy, in the office/multifamily division at Cousins Properties, a publicly-traded REIT.
Mr. Keough is a Certified Management Accountant and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He received his BS degree in Finance and Economics from Babson College.
Wood Partners is a national multifamily real estate company that acquires, develops, constructs and property manages high density and mixed-use communities. Through quality construction, responsible land development and intelligent design, its communities reflect the aesthetic and social fabric of the community and provide a luxurious living experience at a fair price. The company has been involved in the development of more than 36,000 homes with a combined value of more than $4.5 billion. It currently has offices and projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
To learn more about Wood Partners, please visit www.woodpartners.com.
|
|
 |
Ryan Dearborn
CEO |
 |
Joe Keough
CFO, COO |
|
|
