Winner: Australia-based Caydon breaks ground on Midtown’s first high rise

The skinny: Melbourne, Australia-based Caydon secured financing and broke ground on its $200 million residential tower in Houston’s Midtown. The 27-story tower, at 2850 Fannin St., will be the first high-rise property in Midtown, and first move-ins are expected in mid-2019. Caydon closed on the 1.15 acres in mid-December 2016. The next month, the company demolished the former building on the property — the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority building — to make way for the tower dubbed The Midtown. When complete, it will have 357 units along with 12,000 square feet of retail space and a 482-space parking garage.

Deal amount: Undisclosed

Broke ground: Nov. 8

Dealmakers: Caydon is the developer, ARA Newmark Houston was the land broker, Hoar Construction is the general contractor, Bank of the Ozarks and Invesco Real Estate provided the financing, HFF secured the financing and Ziegler Cooper Architects designed the tower.

Why it matters: The project is the developer’s first U.S. project, which shows a lot of confidence in the Houston market. Caydon’s CEO Joe Russo said “I looked at five cities in the U.S. and fell in love with Houston.”

Meanwhile, in August, Caydon acquired a 41,000-square-foot site near The Midtown from Current Standing Developments — formerly known as PLC Capital Corp. — for an undisclosed amount. The land will be mixed-use with apartment units, retail and parking.