Berkadia Negotiates $78M Sale of Indigo at Cross Creek Apartments in Metro Charlotte

Berkadia has negotiated the $78 million sale of Indigo at Cross Creek, a 303-unit apartment community located at 2001 Cramer Circle in Indian Land, a South Carolina suburb of Charlotte. Tampa-based Argyle Real Estate Partners purchased the property from the seller, a partnership between Taft Development Group and UHF Development. Caleb Troop, Thomas Colaiezzi, Mark Boyce and Blake Coffey of Berkadia represented the seller in the transaction. As part of the deal, Argyle assumed an existing Fannie Mae mortgage.

Built in 2017, Indigo at Cross Creek features one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans averaging 1,134 square feet. Community amenities include a saltwater pool, one-mile walking trail, cabanas with outdoor fire pits, sundeck, grilling stations, business lounge with flat-screen TVs, fitness center, yoga studio, clubhouse, bocce ball court and a dog park.

See the full article at REBUSINESS ONLINE

North Carolina developer starts work on $85M apartment project near Park Road Shopping Center

Greenville, North Carolina-based developer Taft Family Ventures has begun construction on Adler Montford Park, a redevelopment of the former Melrose Place Apartments near Park Road Shopping Center.

North Carolina developer Taft Family Ventures has kicked off its most recent Charlotte multifamily project in the Montford area.

Site work is underway on Adler Montford Park, a 202,000-square-foot apartment community with 241 studio, one- and two-bedroom units and eight three-bedroom townhomes situated on about 2.9acres. Starting rents will range between $1,600 and $2,400.

The property will include a clubhouse, resort-style pool, yoga and fitness center, remote work lounges, community kitchen and rooftop sky lounge with views of uptown. Thomas Taft Jr., TFV principal, said the most valuable amenity is the property's proximity to Park Road Shopping Center and shopping, dining and entertainment in the Montford neighborhood.

Taft said the project, at 1351 E. Woodlawn Road, is replacing the former Melrose Place Apartments development, which was demolished in mid-2019. TFV acquired the property in 2019 for $7.3 million, according to Mecklenburg County property records.

The $85 million project is expected to deliver in spring 2025. Vertical construction will likely begin early next year, Taft said.

"This time last year the interest-rate world blew up, so it took us until the start of this year to sort out the construction debt," he said. "It’s pretty substantial site work, so I would be surprised if there’s much out of the ground before the end of the year."

Taft said the intent was always to tear down the aging Melrose Place Apartments and redevelop the land.

"It was a fairly run-down property, and though we operated the apartments for a while as we worked through plans (for redevelopment), we knew eventually we’d tear it down," he said." The land has been vacant since then as we worked through design entitlement concepts, and now we’re basically ready to start construction."

Adler Montford Park is the Greenville-based developer's third Charlotte project. Taft said it won't be its last. "Our family’s equity investment in this project is further proof that Charlotte is a smart place to invest, thanks to the combination of robust public and private investment that create an ideal development environment," he said. "It's always been incredibly appealing to watch Charlotte grow."

Taft Construction Group is heading the construction, and Taft Management Group is managing the project. SouthPark Interiors is the interior designer; Land Design is handling site planning; and Cline Design is the architect.

See the full article at The Charlotte Business Journal

New Raleigh apartments ITB come with yoga, billiards

A real estate firm in Greenville is planning an apartment community inside the Beltline in Raleigh with a yoga center, billiard room, and cooking demonstration area.

Taft Development Group has filed site permits for a 195-unit apartment complex at 1031 N. King Charles Road across from Lions Park. There will be studios, one- and two-bedroom units.

The residential units will be spread among three 3-story buildings. Interior features include granite countertops and stand-up glass showers. Studios will be around 485 square feet and will rent for $1,350 a month. One-bedroom units will rent for $1,700 a month and be around 800 square feet. Two bedrooms will range from $2,200 to $2,450 a month and have a square footage between 1,058 to 1,374.

Community amenities will be a clubhouse, swimming pool with sundeck, pavilion, yoga and fitness center, billiard room, clubroom with cooking demonstration area and business lounge.

Taft Development Principal Thomas F. Taft Jr. said the company anticipates starting construction in April with leasing beginning in late 2023 and move-in by March 2024.The project will cost $45 million and is about 65 percent financed by United Community Bank. The remaining cost will be self-funded.

The project will sit on seven acres and require demolition of a current commercial building. Taft acquired the site in March 2020 for $3.75 million. The property has an assessed value of $3.66 million.

Taft Development Group has been active in the Triangle and surrounding areas. It is behind Spinning Mill Lofts, a255-unit project in downtown Clayton. Last year, the company submitted site plans for Cabarrus and Dawson Residences, a 12-story building with 261 units in Downtown Raleigh.

Taft Development Group is part of Taft Family Ventures. The company develops residential, commercial, and industrial real estate. Taft and its affiliates have 630 units under construction and 440 in the development pipeline in the Triangle.

See the full article at The Triangle Business Journal

HRP Associates’ Greenville office relocates to historic Judson Mill District

RP Associates, Inc. (HRP), an environmental engineering and consulting firm with offices nationwide, announced the relocation of its Greenville office to the historic Judson Mill District.

“We’re delighted to join Judson Mill’s thriving community,” HRP Associates principal and regional manager Shaun Malin said. “Judson Mill offers our staff not only immediate access to a multitude of businesses on campus, but also downtown. The transformation that has taken place compliments the essential functions of HRP’s environmental, engineering, health and sustainability practices, and we are thrilled to be part of it.”

Read more at GSA Bizwire

Acclaimed pizzeria opening Clayton restaurant this year

A restaurant that serves Neapolitan style pizza is adding another location in Johnston County in a few months.

The new location will be the fourth for Luna Pizza, which started in Greenville. The restaurant will be located near the Spinning Mill Loft apartment complex – located just southeast of downtown Clayton near Main Street – being developed by Taft Family Ventures.

"It just made a lot of sense," said Richard Williams, owner of Luna Pizza. "Johnston County is really up and coming and growing. The business environment in Johnston County and Clayton is just very, very positive. There's a lot of energy and money flowing into Johnston County."

Williams said the rough timeline for opening will be August, but delays in getting building materials may push that timeline back. He declined to share the investment cost for the new restaurant.

Luna Pizza has been named the best pizza in Greenville by The Daily Reflector in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Luna Pizza also has a location in Old North State Food Hall, which recently opened within the Eastfield development in Selma. Its other location is in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Neapolitan style pizza, which originated in Naples, Italy, is defined by its thin and soft crust. The pies cook for as little as two minutes in a super-hot oven. The most well-known pizza of its kind is the Margherita, a simple pizza comprised of tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil.

Luna Pizza has other types of pizza on the menu including the Bacon & Jalapeno (which Williams said is his favorite), Prosciutto & Arugula and the Crisp Eggplant.

Taft Family Ventures is a major player in the Greenville real estate scene, and Williams said Thomas Taft Jr. is a frequent customer at his Greenville location. The two have gotten to know each other, and that's how the relationship formed to the point where Williams is opening a location within Taft's Clayton project.

Taft Jr. said that this location is "the first of several locations that Taft and Luna have in various stages of planning."

Clayton is one of the fastest-growing places in the Triangle. The town, home to 28,300 people, grew by a whopping 7.5 percent in just one year between 2020 and 2021, according to U.S. Census data. For reference, North Carolina grew by 1.2 percent as a whole during the same period.

See the full article at The Triangle Business Journal

Renovation work underway at Cupola Building; Historic church will house museum

Work is underway at the Cupola Building, 226 W. Eighth St., to change the former church-turned-office-supply-store into a museum for the natural sciences.

Taft Family Ventures is renovating the Classical Revival structure, the historic church building constructed in 1916 with an octagonal cupola, to house the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences at Greenville.

Thomas Taft Jr., a principal with the company, offered the structure to the museum as part of a deal to purchase the museum’s current location on Dickinson Avenue from the City of Greenville. Taft and his partners plan to build a market-rate apartment complex and parking deck on several parcels in the area.

Read more at The Daily Reflector

Congressman David Price visits Crenshaw Trace, an affordable rental development for seniors in Wake Forest.

Taft-Mills Group would like to thank Congressman David Price and his staff for visiting our Crenshaw Trace community this week.  Crenshaw Trace is a 68-unit age-restricted (55+) affordable housing community located in Wake Forest, NC.  In addition to Congressman Price, representatives from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and Excel Property Management joined the tour.

Nonprofit learning center opens in Greenville’s Judson Mill development

The plan to create an innovation hub inside the multimillion-dollar reimagining of historic Judson Mill has taken flight as its anchor tenant has opened a community learning center.

“The purpose of the learning center is to help small business owners access knowledge they can use to build greater capacities for their businesses,” CommunityWorks CEO Latorrie Geer said in a statement. “The Jud Hub is committed to bringing in non-profits and entrepreneurs who can work collaboratively throughout the space, and we couldn’t be more excited to be here.”

Read more at The Post and Courier Greenville

Judson Mill - InnovateFund 2022 Impact Report

The Innovate Fund’s largest NMTC investment at $16.5 million, Judson Mill supports 197 direct jobs with 64% being Quality Jobs and 58% being Accessible Jobs to people with a high school diploma or less in an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Distressed Area with Poverty rate of 44.2%. The project sponsor also committed to offering space to non-profit and locally owned tenants of at least 20% below market rates and at closing the average percent below market was 51.48%.

Feed & Seed, a local non-profit with a mission to increase food security for all South Carolinians, will occupy over 18,000 sq. ft. of space, providing them a permanent home for the first time in an HFFI designated food desert. The YMCA of Greenville will operate an almost 13,000 sq. ft. fitness center, providing the neighborhood with its only wellness facility open to the public. Tenants of the project have committed to providing reduced rates for low-income residents, free demonstration and training programs for area residents, and community gardens and produce stands at below market rates.

Read the full report at The InnovateFund

SeamonWhiteside’s Greenville office relocates to historic Judson Mill District

SeamonWhiteside Logo

SeamonWhiteside (SW+), a full-service site design firm with offices throughout the Carolinas, announced it will be relocating its Greenville office to the historic Judson Mill District. The multi-disciplinary firm will move its 46 employees from its 7,500-square-foot space on Rhett Street to a 14,730-square-foot space in the Warehouse Building at Judson Mill.

A firm that is expanding quickly across the Southeast, the relocation of SeamonWhiteside’s office to the Judson Mill District will foster opportunities for growth and collaboration.

Read more at UpstateBizSC

SEAMONWHITESIDE RELOCATING ITS GREENVILLE OFFICE

SeamonWhiteside will soon have a new home in Greenville.

The site design firm, which has offices throughout the Carolinas, will be relocating its Greenville office to the historic Judson Mill District, according to a news release. The multi-disciplinary firm will move its 46 employees from its 7,500-square-foot space on Rhett Street to a 14,730-square-foot space in the Warehouse Building at Judson Mill.

Read more at SC Biz News

Greenville affordable housing complex expected to break ground this fall

A 180-unit, $28.7 million affordable housing complex south of Greenville’s Medical District is a step closer to becoming a reality.

Greenville City Council on Thursday night voted in favor of authorizing terms and executing loan documents in the amount of $1 million for the Taft-Mills Group’s Arlington Trace project.

Councilwoman Monica Daniels told Mills and Berryman that the project’s support for domestic violence victims speaks to her. Daniels works with survivors of domestic violence in her job as a social worker.

“It is rare throughout North Carolina that we have places for domestic violence victims and that is very important as they start their new lives,” Daniels said. “I appreciate this project.

Read more at The Daily Reflector

Judson Mill’s Feed and Seed opening April 9th

Judson Mill’s Feed and Seed is set to open Saturday, April 9 at 8 a.m., bringing a new local and regional “food hub” to the Upstate.

Located inside the Warehouse at the Judson Mill development, the nonprofit food aggregation and distribution center will serve food relief organizations, schools, institutions and local residents with healthy, affordable food.

The 18,000-square-foot food hub will consist of a cafe and marketplace in the front of the space, which shoppers can pick up regular groceries — fresh produce, quick healthy meals, kitchen staples and other items — along with chef-prepared breakfast and lunch dishes. Behind the market will be a commercial kitchen, which will support the cafe, with another commercial kitchen right behind it.

Read more at Greenville Journal

Cowboy Up set to open March 25 in Judson Mill

Greenville’s newest live music venue Cowboy Up will be opening March 25 in the Judson Mill development, and the mechanical bull is waiting.

Inside 10,000-square-foot space, the work is nearly complete to transform the once-empty warehouse into a premier live music venue that stylistically echoes the country music ethos. Reclaimed wood from the old Judson Mill cover the walls, while old steels beams cross the ceilings. The goal was to create a rustic and modern design that combines the traditional with modern.

“We’re just super excited because this location is perfect for us,” Dozier said. “It’s a destination location with

Read more at Upstate Business Journal

In Booming Clayton, Old Mill to be Transformed into Apartment Complex

A developer with an active presence in the Triangle is looking to bring more housing options to Johnston County.

Construction on Spinning Mill Lofts started last week with delivery expected by Q3 2023, said Thomas Taft Jr., principal at Greenville-based Taft Family Ventures. The apartment complex, located just southeast of downtown Clayton near Main Street, will include 255 units.

This project has long been in the works, as Taft said the land was closed on in 2018 back when Clayton was one of the fastest-growing places in the Greater Triangle – a trend that has only accelerated since then.

"The location was a big driver," Taft said. "Clayton was a great idea three years ago. It's an even better idea now."

Read more at Triangle Business Journal

Taft-Mills Group Ranked the 33rd Largest Affordable Housing Developer in the Country

The Taft-Mills Group has been ranked the 33rd largest affordable housing developer in the country by Affordable Housing Finance Magazine! TMG began construction on 488 units during 2020 in Greenville, Raleigh and Wake Forest! New developments in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland begin to take shape and the company has surpassed 1,000 units under ownership.