Ballard Spahr finance lawyers advised on a housing transaction for The Michaels Organization to fund development of first-of-its-kind privatized housing for unaccompanied service members to deliver upscale garden apartment-style living for service members at the U.S. Army's Fort Irwin installation in California.
The Fort Irwin Apartments will contain 276 modern units designed specifically for unaccompanied service members, The Michaels Organization said in announcing the project's financial closing earlier this month. Demolition on the Fort Irwin site began in May and construction is scheduled to begin in September.
The apartments will combine elements of military housing and student living to create an upscale garden apartment-style residential experience for single and junior-ranking service members. The project is part of a larger initiative by the military and Michaels to enhance the quality of life for military personnel—seen as an important recruitment tool for the next generation of military personnel. The initiative, which Michaels created in conjunction with Army leadership, includes construction of new homes, rehabilitation of historic homes, and interior and exterior renovations of other existing homes at Army facilities across the country.
Attorneys from Ballard Spahr's national Finance Department served as bond counsel to Stifel, the bond underwriter for the recent transaction. The Ballard Spahr team that advised Michaels and Stifel is led by Jere G. Thompson, a partner in the firm's Housing Finance practice, and includes BK Katzmann and Skye Nickalls.
Ballard Spahr served in a similar counsel role in an Army housing finance transaction last year.