June – Briefs/Finance

Starwood Leads Origination of $475M Loan for Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards

Starwood Property Trust has led the origination of a $475 million first mortgage and mezzanine loan for the first phase of Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group’s Hudson Yards project in Manhattan. Starwood will provide $350 million in funding; the remainder will come from Oxford Properties Group and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners.

The loan will be used to help finance the construction of the project’s South Tower, a 1.7 million-square-foot asset that will rise on Manhattan’s West Side, at the corner of 30^th Street and 10^th Avenue. With occupancy slated for 2015, the 47-story South Tower will be the first in what will ultimately be the largest private master-planned development in the Big Apple’s history. The interest rate floats over LIBOR and the loan matures in four years, with a one-year extension option.

Prudential Mortgage Capital Closes First Netherlands Loan

Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. is off to a strong start after launching its European business in 2012. The firm just provided $72 million of a total $91.5 million financing package in the Netherlands, its third European loan and first in continental Europe. The loan itself is secured by a portfolio of six warehouse properties spread throughout the Netherlands and owned by W.P. Carey Inc. The assets are all leased to C1000, a national supermarket chain recently acquired by Jumbo to form the second-largest grocer in the country. The $19.5 million in subordinate financing will continue to be provided by incumbent lender ING Real Estate Finance.

Bascom Obtains $230M for 1,523-Unit Denver Asset

The Bascom Group L.L.C. has obtained $230 million in financing for The Breakers Resort, a 1,523-unit luxury multi-family compound in Denver. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. orchestrated the multi-faceted financing package, which came in three forms, including a $165 million first mortgage provided by Bank of America and CIBC. The loan features a floating rate and a three-year term, with the option for two one-year extensions. The package also included a $26.3 million mezzanine loan and $38.8 million of preferred equity obtained through Prudential Real Estate Investors’ $805 million U.S. Real Estate Debt Fund. The Bascom Group L.L.C. used proceeds to buy out its institutional equity partner. Additional proceeds will be used to improve the asset and refinance the existing loans on the property, which were provided by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler in 2011.

Vornado Completes $300M in Financing for Outlet Asset

Vornado Realty Trust has completed $300 million in financing for the Outlets at Bergen Town Center, a 948,000-square-foot shopping center located in Paramus, N.J. The 10-year loan is interest-only at 3.56 percent. The retail asset was previously encumbered by a $282 million floating-rate loan. Anchor stores at the property include Century 21, Bloomingdale’s The Outlet Store, Marshall’s and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH.

Union Bank to Acquire PB Capital’s $3.7B CRE Platform

Union Bank N.A. has reached an agreement to acquire the $3.7 billion institutional commercial real estate lending portfolio and platform of PB Capital Corp. The acquisition will catapult Union Bank from No. 17 to No. 9 among the largest bank investor CRE lenders in the United States. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013, subject to customary closing conditions. PB Capital’s seller, Deutsche Bank, took a large stake in Postbank (the former postal savings division of the Deutsche Bundespost) in September 2008 and gained a majority holding in December 2010. PB Capital came along as part of the deal, but was officially designated a non-core asset in November of last year, when Deutsche Bank formed its non-core operations unit.

Walker & Dunlop Provides $71.3M for SoCal Apartments

Walker & Dunlop Inc. has provided $71.3 million in financing for Terracina, a 736-unit community located in Ontario, Calif. The 1988-built asset was recently picked up by MG Properties Group, which split the community into two independently run properties: Terracina Archibald and Terracina Riverside. Combined occupancy was more than 92 percent at closing. The two loans were arranged by Bryan Frazier, senior vice president at Walker & Dunlop Inc.

Meridian Capital Arranges $115 for NYC Hotel-Office Conversion

The Flatotel in New York is getting a new life thanks to a $115 million acquisition and construction loan arranged by Meridian Capital Group. The vacant 47-story asset was acquired by a partnership between Chetrit Group and Clipper Equity, a team that plans to convert the asset into a five-floor boutique office condominium and a 37-floor luxury residential condo. The Flathotel is located at 135 West 52^nd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues. The total project cost is presently estimated at $250 million.

Colliers Lands $72M for Colorado Retail Portfolio

Colliers International has arranged the $72 million refinancing of eight King Soopers-anchored retail centers totaling 895,000 square feet in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder metropolitan area. The firm worked on behalf of a joint venture between AmCap Inc. and a state pension plan to secure the loans through Principal Real Estate Investors. Proceeds from the new 15-year fixed-rate mortgages were used to retire existing securitized debt. The weighted average loan-to-value ratio was 60-65 percent.