The developer of South Pier along Tempe Town Lake has secured a hefty loan to finance the completion of the first phase of the mixed-use project.
The multibillion-dollar mixed-use project from developer South Pier Tempe Holdings LLC, an entity of Washington state-based McBride-Cohen Management, is being developed across 18 acres along Vista Del Lago Drive on the Tempe lakefront. McBride-Cohen started construction on the first phase earlier in the year, which will include three apartment towers totaling 724 units and 26,000 square feet of retail on 3.3 acres.
McBride-Cohen said that it has secured a $223 million loan through Mexico-based Banco Inbursa — a bank owned by billionaire Carlos Slim — and Chicago private equity firm Pearlmark. McBride-Cohen is the lead developer on the project and is working alongside New York firms Cantor Fitzgerald and Silverstein Properties for the first phase of the development.
“The closing of this construction loan is another step toward delivering a world-class waterfront destination that will benefit the entire region,” said Loren McBride Cohen, CEO of McBride Cohen, in a statement. “We thank our partners at Cantor Fitzgerald and Silverstein for their belief in this project and are hard at work making this dream a reality.”
View the accompanying slideshow to see new renderings of the South Pier at Tempe Town Lake project.
South Pier at Tempe Town Lake
The three apartment towers in the first phase are expected to be completed in the next 42 months with the towers completing construction on staggered schedules. Cohen said he expected the first occupancies to take place by the end of 2025 and the towers to complete in full by 2026.
Housing, retail also part of the project
In addition to the towers in the first phase, South Pier will have more housing units and retail that will be built in subsequent phases. McBride-Cohen will build more than 2,500 units across rentable apartments, condominiums for purchase along with senior housing. The developer also plans two luxury hotels, more than 600,000 square feet of high-rise office space and a multi-acre entertainment district including restaurants, nightlife experiences, concert venues, fountain shows and a large Ferris wheel.
A two-acre public park called "The Central Green" is at the heart of the project.
McBride-Cohen expects to move forward on several of those developments at the beginning of 2024 with an office tower, a luxury hotel, a for-sale condo tower, a senior housing tower, additional retail space and multifamily housing units all in the works.