Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged $20,530,000 in non-recourse senior construction financing for The Surf, a beachfront condominium project in Cocoa Beach, FL. The Project consists of 25 luxury residential units with sale prices ranging from $975,000 to $2,500,000, as well as 3 ground floor retail units. The Project is currently 75% pre-sold. Per Florida statutes, any buyer deposit amount over 10% of the purchase price may be used towards development costs, but a large portion of those deposits are not due from buyers until building top off. GSP was able to successfully secure a lender comfortable with crediting future deposits to decrease the Sponsor’s up-front equity requirement.

The Sponsor’s co-developer and GC tragically passed in early 2020, leading them to engage a new group. While the new GC had extensive experience in luxury housing development, they are relatively new to ground-up, multi-level condominium development. GSP leveraged its extensive lender network, strong pre-sales, and the Orlando-based Sponsor’s strong development track record in this submarket and product type to provide non-recourse construction financing.

The term is 24 months with interest-only payments and 6 months minimum interest. The senior note was sized to 64% LTC. GSP structured the loan, crediting future sales deposits towards the total equity requirement, thereby eliminating any additional out-of-pocket equity required at closing above the land acquisition and predevelopment costs already spent to date.

Rate: WSJ Prime +4.50%
Term: 24 Months + Two 2-Month Extensions
Amortization: Interest-Only
Loan to Cost: 64%
Prepayment: 6 Months Minimum Interest
Guaranty: Non-Recourse
Lender Fee: 1% In, 1% Out