TSB Capital Advisors Arranges Senior Financing and Equity for Harbor Bay Ventures' East Lansing Mass Timber Student Housing Tower

PHOENIX, AZ — TSB Capital Advisors has arranged senior financing and institutional equity for Harbor Bay Ventures to build The Howard, a 12-story, 707-bed student housing high-rise near Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The project is scheduled for completion in 2028 and is expected to be the state's tallest mass timber residential building.

Busey Bank and FNBO (First National Bank of Omaha) co-led the senior financing. MSU Federal Credit Union and the East Lansing office of Horizon Bank, an Indiana-based bank, participated in the financing.

The Howard: Project Details

The Howard will be located at 401 E. Grand River Ave., directly across from the Michigan State University campus and along a CATA transit line. The building will consist of nine stories of mass timber above a three-story concrete podium. In addition to the 707 beds, the project will include approximately 8,000 square feet of retail space in downtown East Lansing.

Interior amenities will include a library, fitness and yoga studios, and dedicated study spaces. The design draws on the Student Book Store, which previously occupied the site; Howard Ballein opened the store in 1960. The project is pre-approved for LEED Gold certification.

Harbor Bay is developing The Howard in partnership with the Ballein family, the same partnership behind its earlier East Lansing developments, Landmark on Grand River and Newman Lofts.

Financing Structure and Equity Raise

TSB Capital Advisors said the transaction marks Harbor Bay Ventures' first institutional equity raise. The firm also said the deal builds on Harbor Bay's long-standing banking relationships. The financing combines a multi-bank senior facility with the institutional equity commitment.

"We are thrilled to see the years of effort and collaboration between Harbor Bay and the Ballein family culminate in a one-of-one project," said Ian Bradley of TSB Capital Advisors. "The Howard's iconic location and visionary mass timber design will deliver a living experience unlike any other in the East Lansing market. We are proud to advise on Harbor Bay's first institutional equity raise while continuing to build on their long-standing banking relationships."

Brian Bell, chief operating officer of Harbor Bay, said the participation of the lenders was an endorsement of the project. "Having Busey Bank and FNBO lead the financing, alongside MSU Federal Credit Union and Horizon Bank, is a powerful endorsement of both this project and the platform we have built," Bell said.

Harbor Bay's Mass Timber Pipeline

The Howard is Harbor Bay's third mass timber development, following INTRO Cleveland and INTRO Columbus. INTRO Columbus, formerly known as 9th and High, is a 13-story, 242,000-square-foot project near Ohio State University with 186 units and 493 beds. It is scheduled to open for the 2027-28 academic year and has already topped out.

Harbor Bay describes itself as a vertically integrated real estate development, investment, construction, property management and hospitality operations company. Bell said the in-house construction and operations model allows for optimal execution and delivery on each project. The company reports it has created more than $1.5 billion of real estate over the past decade.

Lenders and Advisor

Busey Bank, founded in Champaign-Urbana in 1868, has $18.04 billion in assets and serves clients across 10 states, according to the company. FNBO, a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska Inc., has been in business for nearly 170 years. FNBO and its affiliates have $35 billion in assets and more than 4,500 employees, with primary banking offices in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

TSB Capital Advisors, founded in 2009, has offices in Phoenix; Wayne, Pennsylvania; and Dallas. The firm reports it has helped close more than 550 deals and over $80 billion in student housing and multifamily transactions.

Market Implications

The financing is being arranged ahead of the project's 2028 completion, with the site's proximity to Michigan State University and public transit central to the development's positioning. The project adds a large-scale mass timber residential building, along with ground-floor retail, to downtown East Lansing. Harbor Bay's other mass timber projects, including INTRO Columbus, provide a recent precedent for its construction approach.

Sources

TSB Capital Advisors: https://tsbca.com/tsb-capital-advisors-arranges-senior-financing-and-institutional-equity-for-the-howard-a-student-housing-high-rise-serving-michigan-state-university/