Upton Place on Wisconsin Named “Best Financing Deal” at Washington Business Journal Best Real Estate Deals Awards

April 23, 2021
Upton Place on Wisconsin Named “Best Financing Deal” at Washington Business Journal Best Real Estate Deals Awards Thumbnail

The Donohoe Companies (“Donohoe”) and Apartment Investment and Management Company (“Aimco”) joined the D.C. Metro area’s commercial real estate community in a virtual awards ceremony honoring greater Washington’s Best Real Estate Deals. The Washington Business Journal hosted the event to recognize the top deals in six categories: Best Redevelopment, Best New Development, Best Lease, Best Financing Deal, Best Multifamily Development, and Deal of the Year. Honorees were selected from twenty-one finalists that executed extraordinary real estate deals during 2020.

Upton Place on Wisconsin earned the top award in the “Best Financing Deal” category. In December 2020, Aimco and Donohoe executed two long-term ground leases with the Karla H.K. Harrison Trust and closed on $174MM in construction financing placed by Eastdil Secured with Bank OZK to build the $290MM Upton Place project. The deal earned top honor due to its complexity, which encompassed six years of planning by a large team of real estate professionals to form a joint venture, renegotiate ground leases, restructure partnership agreements, and place equity and debt financing.

“Our in-house team’s comprehensive expertise and extensive history with the property laid the foundation to prepare the project for redevelopment and financing. The ensuing deal was a true collaboration among stakeholders who have been involved in the property since the 1980s,” said Laurie Ballenger, Donohoe’s general counsel, who played a central role in all negotiations.

Bob Donohoe, Jr., Donohoe’s chief investment officer, continued further, “We owe this recognition to a great group of external partners – Aimco, Bank OZK, Eastdil, and many others who had the ambition to make this deal creatively come together. We’re excited to bring this transformational project to northwest D.C.”

Upton Place comprises 689 multifamily residences, including 65 affordably priced, in two residential towers atop approximately 100,000 square feet of prime retail space and a restored 825-space below-grade parking garage. Upton Place will transform a recently vacated, to-be-razed office building formerly occupied by Fannie Mae into a dynamic mixed-use destination. SK+I Architecture designed the residences with active social spaces, including a fitness center, three distinctive courtyards, rooftop entertainment space, outdoor cooking areas, two pools, co-working space, public pocket parks, and pedestrian connections to access the adjacent new City Ridge development and other neighborhood amenities. Donohoe Construction broke ground on the project in January of 2021, and expected completion is late 2024.

Tags: Awards, News