Hines JV Gets $199M Loan for Research Triangle Project

Fenton. Image courtesy of Hines

A joint venture between Hines, Columbia Development and USAA Real Estate has landed a $199.2 million construction loan for the first phase of Fenton, a mixed-use development in Cary, N.C. Bank OZK provided the four-year, floating-rate financing package, according to Wake County records.

The 69-acre site is located at 855 Cary Towne Blvd., close to Interstate 40 and adjacent to Wake Med Soccer Park. The property is across the street from Turnbridge Equities’ 1 million-square-foot Cary Towne Center shopping mall and 10 miles west of downtown Raleigh. 

Betting big on retail and office

JLL arranged the senior note, believing it to be the second-largest commercial development mortgage in the Triangle’s history. The brokerage also noted that the loan is the largest project financing origination nationwide for a retail-driven development since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, citing data from Real Capital Analytics.

The developer expects construction to go vertical later this month. The total cost of the project is $1 billion, according to Triad Business Journal. The first phase will include 345,000 square feet of retail space, anchored by a 125,000-square-foot Wegmans Food Market and a 36,000-square-foot CMX CinéBistro, a dine-in movie theater. The development will also include a 200,000-square-foot office component, 175-key hotel and 357-unit luxury community called The Canopy at Fenton. The first phase is slated for completion in April 2022.

JLL Managing Directors Chip Sykes and Roger Edwards secured the financing on behalf of the borrower. Last year, HFF, now part of JLL, facilitated joint venture equity investment for the project.

In April, Edwards and colleague Christopher Peck facilitated a $19.5 million loan for Turnbridge Equities’ acquisition of The Creamery, an 82,000-square-foot mixed-use asset in Raleigh.