HFF arranges $77.5 million construction loan on behalf of Longfellow Real Estate

Durham, NC According to Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) it has arranged a $77.5 million construction loan for the Southern Gateway of the Durham Innovation District, a development comprising two seven-story office buildings and a 1,260-space parking garage.

HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, Longfellow Real Estate Partners, to secure the floating-rate construction loan through Citizens Bank and Capital One.

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by managing director Greg LaBine and director Cory Fowler.

Estimated for completion in 2018, Southern Gateway will consist of three components: a 162,097 s/f office building; a 161,534 s/f office building that is fully pre-leased to Duke University; and a 1,260-space parking garage.

Flanked by Duke University, the 2.931-acre site is positioned at 224 Morris St. within the Durham Innovation District, an urban, mixed-use, master-planned development totaling more than one million s/f of office, lab and residential space downtown. In addition to Duke University and world class medical facilities, downtown Durham is home to the AAA Durham Bulls Athletic Park and a rich cultural arts scene, including the nationally ranked Durham Performing Arts Center (the 4^th most attended theatre in the U.S.) as well as multiple art and science museums.

“Longfellow has been very active in the Triangle, while garnering a strong relationship with Duke University,” said LaBine. “Their relationship will only further enhance this unique opportunity to add institutional real estate with a best-in-class anchor to downtown Durham.”

“The urbanization trend of downtown Durham, coupled with the explosive growth within the Triangle has further tightened the office vacancy in Durham.  Longfellow has an excellent team on the ground to provide potential tenants a flight to quality,” added Fowler.

Longfellow Real Estate Partners serves the unique demands of science and technology companies and focuses on the most innovative cluster locations in the US. The firm acquires and develops facilities in strategic locations and builds long-term relationships with research-centric organizations including life science companies, universities, medical centers and research institutes.  The principals of Longfellow have developed or redeveloped over five million square feet of laboratory and high tech space over their careers including numerous high profile projects on the East Coast.  The company’s institutional capabilities and entrepreneurial vision enables Longfellow to deliver high quality laboratories and innovation space while satisfying each tenant’s unique requirements. 

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (“HFF”), HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited (collectively, “HFFS”) are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). HFF operates out of 24 offices and is a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment sales, equity placement, advisory services, loan sales and commercial loan servicing.