Celebration Pointe secures $46 million in financing for bridge construction and public infrastructure improvements
Gainesville, Florida - Celebration Pointe, a 125-acre mixed-used development in the heart of Gainesville, has secured a $12 million State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) loan and $34 million in Community Development District (CDD) bonds. Celebration Pointe partner Ralph Conti made the announcement.
The $12 million SIB loan, which was awarded through the Florida Department of Transportation, will finance the construction of a multimodal, four-lane bridge that will span Interstate 75. Once complete in early 2016, the bridge will provide a major secondary access point to the project. The SIB loan was able to leverage other public and private funding to improve the overall financial feasibility of the project by awarding a low interest loan and assist with providing increased mobility and intermodal connectivity with Florida’s transportation system.
The $34 million in CDD bonds will finance the necessary public infrastructure needed to support the 1 million-sq.-ft. town center, including its public utilities and improvements along 45th Street. As the first project in the region to be designated as a transit-oriented development, Celebration Pointe will feature multiple mass transit stops and a network of bike paths and walkways throughout the project. Once open, Celebration Pointe will boast more than a half-mile of Interstate frontage and will connect to major arterials leading to and from significant points of interest in Gainesville, including the University of Florida, its major healthcare corridor and the central business district.
“The closing of the SIB loan and the sale of the CDD bonds are reflective of the positive momentum for Celebration Pointe and also the high level of investor confidence in this truly unique and first to the market project,” said Conti. “The increasing investment in a strong public infrastructure is the key to success for both the project and the entire region.”
Pre-development site work for the project began in August to prepare the site for the necessary infrastructure improvements. Pre-construction activities for the bridge are quickly underway, and will move into full construction in January 2015. The bridge will be fully functional by the spring of 2016. Vertical construction for the initial phase of Celebration Pointe is scheduled to begin in mid-summer of 2015, with Phase I of the project scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.
Celebration Pointe will feature specialty retail, dining, entertainment, Class-A office space, hospitality and nearly 1,000 multifamily residential units. The town center’s tenant mix already includes an 80,000-sq.-ft. Bass Pro Shops anchor store, a 120-room boutique Hotel Indigo, a 10-screen luxury seating Regal Cinemas and local technology giant Info Tech.