SYRACUSE — When Jared Hutter and Michael Edelman were housemates while students at Syracuse University (SU), they had talked about the possibility of one day returning to campus as developers. “We said we should come back and do a project here,” Hutter said. Hutter is a 2006 graduate of SU’s Martin J. Whitman […]
SYRACUSE — When Jared Hutter and Michael Edelman were housemates while students at Syracuse University (SU), they had talked about the possibility of one day returning to campus as developers.
“We said we should come back and do a project here,” Hutter said.
Hutter is a 2006 graduate of SU’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Edelman graduated from the Whitman School in 2005, according to his LinkedIn page.
Hutter and Edelman, who are now business partners, and Brian Rosen, principal of the Rosen Property Group, are all SU graduates.
Rosen graduated in 2001, according to Hutter. Rosen’s brother also lived with Hutter and Edelman, Hutter added.
Those discussions Hutter and Edelman had about a project are now a reality.
Construction crews have started work on #BLVD404 at 404 University Ave., a student-housing project near the SU campus.
Hutter spoke with reporters in advance of a short ceremony July 30 to formally break ground on the project at the construction site.
#BLVD404 is a joint-venture development between New York City–based BLVD Equities and New Jersey–headquartered Rosen Property Group.
A vacated medical building previously occupied the property before crews demolished that in early July, Hutter said.
Crews are currently working on the new building’s foundation on the property.
The principals found the property “about a year ago,” he adds.
Hutter, managing principal of BLVD Equities, said he expects crews to have the structure ready for student living in the fall of 2016.
The project cost for the 75,000-square-foot structure is about $18 million.
The principals are using a construction loan from M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) “and the rest came from equity that we put together,” Hutter said.
The Syracuse Industrial Development Agency provided a grant that is connected to the mortgage-recording tax and some exemption on the sales tax for construction materials.
“It’s small in comparison to the overall project cost,” he said regarding the incentives.
Hutter formed BLVD Equities in 2014 after following the student-housing market “for a number of years,” according to a news release that the Hueber-Breuer Construction Co. Inc. issued.
Hueber-Breuer is leading the construction and design team on the project.
The group also includes Albany–based CHA Companies, which has an office in the Galleries of Syracuse at 441 S. Salina St. in Syracuse; Buffalo–based Lauer-Manguso & Associates Architects; and Salina–based Palucci Engineering PC, according to the Hueber-Breuer news release.
When completed, the structure will house 163 undergraduate students (juniors and seniors) in 54 apartments. The complex will include a fitness facility, a student lounge, and on-site management.
“The building will be very technologically advanced, [with] wireless Internet [availability] all over the place,” Hutter said.
He anticipates most occupants will be Syracuse University students but says it’s open to students from any area college or university.
Hutter and his business partners are “still evaluating” the rental rates for #BLVD404. “The rents will be in line with the rest of the market,” he said.