Fident Capital, a local boutique real estate investment bank, announced the recent equity funding of a $48 million project in the San Diego enclave of Little Italy.

The building, formerly the Caliber Collision Center located on the western half of the city block from 2101–2175 Kettner Boulevard between Ivy and Hawthorn, now includes 6 stories, 129 residential units, 8,000 square feet of retail podium space, 100,000 square feet of residential space and 2.5 levels of subterranean parking. The builder, CityMark Development, will preserve the historic front entrance façade of the structure.

“Little Italy remains the most exciting submarket in Downtown San Diego, and Downtown continues to be the most dynamic market in San Diego County,” said Fident Capital President Kevin Choquette. “The area boasts very strong rents, ultra-low vacancy and has enjoyed exit cap rates at peak levels. This project is picture-perfect infill development: remove an outdated industrial use and invigorate the area by developing well-designed housing stock close to everything. This project further accelerates the rapid transformation northern Little Italy has enjoyed.”

Fident identified an ideal institutional equity partner ideal for the project. The Los Angeles-based fund manages over $2 billion in assets and focuses exclusively on urban infill residential projects that contain over 100 units. The architects on the project are Tanner Hecht Architecture as the design architect, and Van Tilburg, Banvard & Soderbergh as the architect of record.

“Securing funding for the project before the entitlements were secured posed a number of challenges including navigation of a complete change of scope that added about 30 units and another level of underground parking to the project,” said Choquette. “Fident was thrilled to see the seller and our capital partner stay committed to the project during the transition, and we were ultimately able to secure very favorable terms for the developer.”

The project will break ground in early 2016, and is slated for completion in spring of 2017.