Fifth Third, CB&T and TruAmerica Multifamily Back $123.5M Construction Financing for 251-Unit San Carlos Development
SummerHill Apartment Communities has secured $123.5 million in construction financing for a planned 251-unit apartment development at 11 El Camino Real in San Carlos, California, with Fifth Third Bank, California Bank & Trust and TruAmerica Multifamily each contributing to the layered capital structure.
The financing, announced September 28, 2026, comprises a $96.5 million senior construction loan provided jointly by Fifth Third and CB&T, alongside $27 million in preferred equity from TruAmerica Multifamily. The transaction is often referenced in shorthand as approximately $124 million.
Deal Structure: Senior Debt and Preferred Equity
The capital stack reflects a financing approach that has become more common as construction costs and lending standards have tightened in recent years. Rather than relying solely on senior bank debt, SummerHill combined conventional construction lending from Fifth Third and CB&T with preferred equity from TruAmerica Multifamily to reach the full project capitalization.
The $96.5 million senior construction loan represents approximately 78 percent of the total $123.5 million capital stack, with TruAmerica's $27 million preferred equity contribution accounting for the remaining 22 percent. On a per-unit basis, the senior debt equates to roughly $385,000 per planned apartment, while total financing reaches approximately $492,000 per unit. Those figures reflect financing amounts only and are not measures of development cost or projected value.
The transaction marks TruAmerica Multifamily's first preferred-equity financing since the Los Angeles-based firm launched its structured-finance platform in 2025, representing an expansion from the firm's conventional multifamily ownership and operations into providing structured capital to third-party developers.
Project Details: Six Stories, 251 Units, 38 Affordable Apartments
The planned development at 11 El Camino Real will rise six stories and include 251 apartments. Of those, 38 units — approximately 15 percent of the total — are designated as affordable housing. Construction was expected to begin shortly after the financing closed.
The project is located in San Carlos, a city in San Mateo County situated approximately 24 miles south of downtown San Francisco on the Peninsula. The submarket sits within proximity to major technology and life-science employment centers that have historically supported multifamily demand in the region.
TruAmerica's Structured Finance Expansion
TruAmerica Multifamily, founded in 2013 and headquartered in Los Angeles, has grown into one of the larger multifamily owners and operators in the United States. The firm's participation in the San Carlos deal as a preferred equity provider — rather than as a direct property owner — signals a broadening of its capital deployment strategy through its structured-finance platform.
Preferred equity sits between senior debt and common equity in the capital stack, carrying priority over common equity distributions while generally carrying a higher cost of capital than senior bank financing. The structure allows senior lenders such as Fifth Third and CB&T to maintain a conventional lending position while the developer accesses additional project capital.
Bay Area Multifamily Context
The San Carlos project adds to a pipeline of multifamily development activity along the Peninsula, a submarket characterized by constrained housing supply and demand tied to the region's technology and life-science employment base. The inclusion of 38 affordable units addresses local affordability requirements while the broader project targets the area's rental housing demand.
The financing structure — combining bank construction debt with preferred equity — illustrates how developers in high-cost markets are assembling capital to move projects forward in an environment where senior lenders have remained selective. The transaction closed with construction set to begin, positioning the 251-unit community for eventual delivery to a supply-constrained Peninsula market.
Sources
TruAmerica Multifamily — Fifth Third, CB&T, TruAmerica Lend $124M on Bay Area Apartments Build