NorthMarq Arranges Financing for One BrierLake, Energy Tower II

By Georgiana Mihaila, Associate Editor

With financing loosening up but still tough to come by, NorthMarq Capital has made it possible for a number of Houston properties lately.

Behringer Harvard completed the financing of Houston’s One BrierLake Plaza. Proceeds from the deal, along with cash on hand, were used to repay the balance under Behringer Harvard REIT I Inc.’s credit facility. The new financing for the property was provided by Bank of America as senior lender and SBAF Mortgage Fund I/Lender L.L.C. as mezzanine lender.

The 502,410-square-foot Class A office tower is currently 98 percent leased. One BrierLake Plaza, completed in January 2000, features large floorplates, averaging 25,451 rentable square feet, and technical design advantages, including the ability to accommodate multiple fiber-optic communication providers, an underground loading dock and a freight elevator that services all floors of the property.

NorthMarq Capital’s Houston regional office also arranged a permanent mortgage for the 17-story Energy Tower II; John Burke, senior vice president & managing director of the office, was in charge of the deal that resulted in a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule. Borrower Energy Tower II Investments Ltd. benefited from NorthMarq’s relationship with Pacific Life Insurance Co.

Energy Tower II is the second phase of the Energy Plaza development, the North American headquarters of Technip—world leader for the oil and gas industry. The 428,831-square-foot Class A office tower is located at 1720 Katy Freeway and sits between Energy Tower I and a 14-story Embassy Suites.

NorthMarq, headquartered in Minneapolis, offers commercial real estate services for investors, developers, corporations and tenants. The company provides mortgage banking and commercial loan servicing in 32 offices coast to coast, with an average of $7 billion in annual production volume and a loan servicing portfolio of nearly $40 billion.