Martin Fein Interests Develops 335-Unit Luxury Apartment Complex Near Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Martin Fein Interests is planning to break ground on a 335-unit luxury apartment complex in Raleigh in the next few weeks.

According to the NewsObserver, the Houston-based apartment developer has acquired the 7-acre site, located on the Kidd’s Hill Plaza property behind Crabtree Valley Mall, from Weingarten Realty Investors for $7 million. Also of Houston, Weingarten still owns about 3 acres of the larger piece of property, which it purchased in 2007 for $18.8 million.

Upon completion in the first quarter of 2016, the new Creekside at Crabtree multi-family community will offer a mix of 301 one-, two- and three-bedroom units of an average size of 870 square feet, as well as 34 three-story townhomes of an average 1,486 square feet.

Steinberg Design Collaborative of Houston and Moore Design Group of Dallas are the project’s architects, the Triangle Business Journal reports. The general contractor is Westchase Construction, an affiliate of Martin Fein Interests. Eagle Realty Group is providing equity financing, while BBVA Compass Bank is providing construction financing.

The new development will be located at the opposite end of Crabtree Valley Avenue from the mixed-use Crabtree Village project, which includes a 293-unit luxury apartment complex scheduled to open in July. Developer Terwilliger Pappas of Charlotte is also planning to add 200,000 square feet of office space at the site and either more apartments or a hotel.

According to Karnes Research and the Triangle Apartment Association, the vacancy rate for apartments in Northwest Wake, which includes the Crabtree area, is rising with the completion of new units, but so are rents.

In March, the vacancy rate for this section of the market rose from 4.8 percent last year to 7.2 percent, while average rent for a two-bedroom unit reached $967, a 3 percent increase from the same period in 2013.

Other projects planned or under way near the Crabtree Valley Mall area include the 384-unit Marshall Park developed by Woodfield Investments on Blue Ridge Road and the 533-unit Crabtree North and Carolina Row at Crabtree projects on Lead Mine Road.

Photo credits: Steinberg Design Collaborative LLP