Chevy Chase Plaza, Washington, D.C.

The CBRE Melody office in Hartford recently arranged financing in the amount of $35 million for Chevy Chase Plaza, located at 5301 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Washington, D.C., Mike Riccio, director of CBRE Melody’s Hartford office, in conjunction with Maury Zanoff and Joe Donato in CBRE Melody’s Washington, D.C., office, secured the funding for the transaction. Hartford Investment Management provided the financing on behalf of Cornerstone Property Fund, which is managed by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers.

The property was not previously leveraged. Officials said the deal was highly sought-after with a competitive bid process. Chevy Chase Plaza is the first deal that Melody put together between Hartford Investment Management and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers.

Chevy Chase Plaza is an 8-story, 161,515-square-foot, Class A office building with three levels of underground parking. The property is located in Friendship Heights, a prosperous section of the District of Columbia’s Northwest quadrant. The property is adjacent to Friendship Center, Chevy Chase Pavilion and the Friendship Heights Metro stop. The property is currently 100 percent leased to what officials called a strong and diverse tenant base.

Eastbrook Towers Refinanced

Arbor Commercial Funding, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arbor Commercial Mortgage, has announced the recent funding of a $3.48 million loan under Fannie Mae’s DUS/MBS product line to refinance the 61-unit complex known as Eastbrook Towers in East Hartford.

The 10-year loan term amortizes on a 30-year schedule and carries a fixed-note rate of 5.62 percent. 

The loan was originated by John Edwards, director, in Boston and was underwritten in Arbor’s full-service Uniondale, N.Y., lending office. “We were pleased with the opportunity to provide timely acquisition financing for a repeat Arbor client,” said Edwards.

Arbor Commercial Funding, Arbor Commercial Mortgage and Arbor Realty Trust, have extensive experience in mortgage origination, servicing and securitization and have built a reputation for service, quality and flexibility. Arbor’s seasoned management team specializes in debt and equity financing for multifamily, office, retail, hotel and various other commercial real estate properties. The company offers a broad array of financing options including Fannie Mae DUSTM, FHA, CMBS, Bridge and Mezzanine products. Currently, Arbor services approximately $3 billion in loans. Arbor is a rated Standard & Poor’s third-party commercial loan and special servicer. 

Arbor also manages Arbor Realty Trust, a real estate investment trust formed to invest in real estate-related bridge and mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments and, in limited cases, discounted mortgage notes and other real estate related assets.

Dimeo Completes Athletic Center

Providence, R.I.-based Dimeo Construction recently placed the final steel beam atop the Quinnipiac University Sherman Avenue Athletic Center, which is currently under construction in Hamden and is scheduled to be complete in November 2006.

The Sherman Avenue Athletic Center at Quinnipiac University, designed by Centerbrook Architects & Planners, will be a 191,800-square-foot facility containing a 3,500-seat basketball arena and 3,500-seat hockey arena linked by a common lobby area for concession stands and ticket sales. The center also will include offices, locker rooms, club and premium seating, conference and meeting rooms, storage and weight-training facilities.

The new athletic center, which is expected to open in January 2007, is the first building in Quinnipiac’s $150 million economic development project at its 230-acre Sherman Avenue campus.