- OakNorth’s senior facility forms part of a $48m co-loan with Hickory CRE Capital, a New York-based real estate debt platform;
- The capital will fund the ground-up construction of Vic Centre – a 268-unit, Class A workforce-housing multifamily scheme in Fort Worth, Texas;Â
- The project is being developed by VIC Partners LLC, led by Mike Morley, President of M-13 Construction — a firm with over 40 years of operating history;
- Located in the East Fort Worth corridor with direct access to I-30, the scheme benefits from strong regional connectivity, sitting midway between Fort Worth CBD and Arlington.
Fort Worth, TX, Tuesday 18th August, 2026: OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has provided a $36.5m senior facility as part of a $48m co-loan with Hickory CRE Capital to fund the ground-up construction of Vic Centre, a 268-unit, Class A, workforce-housing, multifamily development at 7120 Anderson Blvd in Fort Worth, Texas.
The project is being developed by VIC Partners LLC, led by Mike Morley, President of M-13 Construction. With over 40 years of experience across multifamily, hospitality, retail, education, and office sectors, M-13 has built a $1.25bn track record, spanning 133 projects across 16 states, and has completed more than nine multifamily projects across Utah and Texas, with a further seven currently under development.
Vic Centre will deliver nine three-storey residential buildings totalling approximately 242,000 sq. ft across 268 units, as well as a clubhouse, fitness centre, pickleball court, business centre, and 402 parking spaces. The development is positioned to serve the East Fort Worth workforce housing market, with direct access to I-30 providing connectivity to Downtown Fort Worth (approximately 11 miles), Arlington (approximately 8 miles), and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (approximately 17 miles).
Hickory CRE Capital, founded in 2018, is a New York-based real estate debt platform specialising in customised debt and structured capital solutions for middle-market sponsors and value-add development projects across the US.
Matt Schneider, Director at Hickory CRE Capital, commented:Â “Mike Morley and the M-13 team are genuinely unusual in this market – very few sponsors at this scale are also running their own general contracting operation, and that alignment between developer and builder is something we weight heavily when we’re putting capital to work in ground-up construction. Vic Centre is a project we’ve had high conviction on for some time, and finding the right senior lending partner was important to us. OakNorth were willing to engage with the detail of the construction programme and the capital structure in a way that made the whole process considerably smoother and swifter than it might otherwise have been.”
Dylan Jagjivan, Debt Finance Director at OakNorth, continued:Â “Workforce housing is one of the most undersupplied segments across US multifamily right now, and Fort Worth is a market where job growth and population inflows have consistently outpaced the delivery of attainably priced rental product. What we found compelling here was the clarity of the business plan – this isn’t a speculative luxury play, it’s a well-costed scheme targeting renters who are already in the market and underserved by existing stock. Combined with M-13’s construction track record and Hickory’s structuring expertise, it was a transaction we were keen to support.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About OakNorth
Launched in September 2015, OakNorth is the bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. It was founded to address the persistent funding gap facing lower mid-market businesses – a segment that accounts for a significant share of economic output yet remains underserved by traditional banks.
To date, OakNorth has provided over $22bn in lending to thousands of entrepreneur-led businesses across the UK and US, supporting the creation of more than 70,000 jobs and generating more than $53bn in economic value. Throughout multiple economic cycles, the bank has maintained a highly disciplined approach to credit, delivering performance metrics that place it among the top 1% of commercial banks globally.
It is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Visit www.oaknorth.co.uk for more information.