Aprea Development and JSB Capital Group landed a $202 million construction financing package for The Avenue, a luxury mixed-use development in downtown Naples.
Bayview Commercial Mortgage Finance provided the package, which includes a $93 million traditional construction loan and $109 million of C-PACE financing, according to a news release. The latter financing was provided by Bayview PACE, a division of BCMF, in a deal brokered by JLL’s debt advisory team, the release said.
Aprea, which is leading the development with JSB Capital Group as a co-developer and capital partner, started construction on The Avenue on Fifth Avenue South earlier this year. The project, at 375 Fifth Avenue South, has begun vertical construction following the financing. It was designed by Morris Adjmi Architects and MHK Architecture. The project will include 50 residences and 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. Completion is slated for 2028.
Forty percent of The Avenue’s 50 residences are under contract, according to Christine Lutz, who is leading sales for the project with the Dawn McKenna Group of Coldwell Banker Realty. Prices range from $3.4 million to nearly $8.5 million.
Andy Penev, principal at Aprea, said the financing reflects lenders’ confidence in the project and Naples’ luxury market.
“The financing market is certainly more disciplined today than it was a couple years ago. Lenders are being much more selective, which I think is healthy,” Penev told The Real Deal. “So the validation of that diligence is a great message for what this project is and for what Naples is.”
Record sales, demand for newly built homes and an influx of year-round buyers have propelled Naples’ luxury market beyond traditional seasonal wealth, TRD previously reported. As land becomes increasingly scarce in Miami and Palm Beach, some buyers are looking to Florida’s west coast, where Naples offers more space and flexibility.
Developments like The Avenue, which allow a “lock-and-leave” lifestyle, are attracting those buyers’ attention.
Several projects are in the city’s pipeline, including the Rosewood Residences on Billionaires’ Row, the Four Seasons Residences at Naples Beach Club and Henley’s Halcyon Residences & Marina.
“Naples is no longer a sleepy little cottage town,” Lutz said. “People are sitting up and paying attention.”
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