Industrial

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully placed a $3,000,000 bridge to permanent loan to fund the purchase, tenant improvements, leasing commissions and carry (real estate taxes, insurance, and debt service) for a vacant 50,000 SF single-story warehouse. The deal presented a couple challenges; the Sponsor had credit issues and the building was 100% vacant. The strong sponsorship experience, low vacancy in the market and the building’s high-level of quality ameliorated these issues. Lastly, the transaction had to be completed within the tight time constraints of a 1031 exchange.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged a bridge acquisition financing for a single-tenant industrial building in Gardena, CA. The Property is 9,300 SF on an approximate 18,731 SF parcel. The previous owner occupied the space, and the building is now vacant. There was an existing environmental issue that limited the pool of interested capital providers. However, GSP leveraged its market expertise and relationships to identify a lender comfortable with the Property and Sponsor, who is a repeat client. GSP secured a 12-month, non-recourse bridge loan at 7.90% fixed with interest-only payments and no prepayment penalty. This will provide the Sponsor time to resolve the environmental issue, lease the Property and season it for permanent financing. The financing closed within 12 days of term sheet issuance.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged bridge acquisition financing for a single-tenant industrial building in Wilmington, CA. The Property is 3,950 SF on an approximate 8,640 SF parcel. The previous owner occupied the Property, and the building is now vacant. GSP secured a 12-month, non-recourse bridge loan at 7.90% fixed with interest only payments and no prepayment penalty. This will provide the Sponsor time to lease the Property and season it for permanent financing. The financing closed within two weeks of term sheet issuance.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged a $1,200,000 permanent refinance for a fully occupied, eight-unit industrial building in the Sun Valley neighborhood of northern Los Angeles, CA. The Sponsor acquired the fully entitled site in 2015 and completed construction in 2016. The Property consists of two buildings totaling 8,084 SF on a 20,452 SF parcel.

The Sponsor had a Chapter 13 bankruptcy due to the impacts of the Great Recession. Having worked diligently to pay off creditors, the bankruptcy was ultimately discharged in 2017. At the same time, the Sponsor’s real estate portfolio grew substantially despite very limited access to capital sources. GSP was engaged in hopes of capitalizing on the low interest rate environment despite the bankruptcy being on record.

GSP focused on the Sponsor’s strong track record and leveraged its longstanding relationship with a lender who provided a 4.90% fixed rate for 5 years, with a 5-year extension option. The loan is interest only the first year and then fully amortizing for the remaining 24 years.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged $19,550,000 of senior construction financing for a ground-up cold storage facility located in Jurupa Valley, CA. The 125,000 square foot facility will serve as the headquarters for West Coast Cold Storage, a “for rent” cold storage provider focused on providing both refrigerated and frozen space to their Southern California customers. Existing cold storage facilities nationwide have an average age of over 40 years, demonstrating the need for new development within the space. With the sudden increase in online grocery orders and delivery, demand for well-located cold storage space has spiked. This flagship building will feature increased energy efficiencies and provide a variety of racking configurations to accommodate customer needs.

Located two blocks from State Highway 60, the Subject Property offers clients immediate access to the entire Inland Empire and Northern San Diego County. This location is also part of the Port of Los Angeles transportation line that handles 20% of incoming U.S. cargo and feeds all Southern California.

Structured to minimize the Sponsor’s equity investment, the non-recourse loan is sized to 81% of development costs and carries an 18-month term. Minimum interest requirements were negotiated to less than 5.5% of the committed loan amount as cold storage has a much shorter construction timeline when compared to other product types. Origination fees were allocated to post Certificate of Occupancy financing to further reduce the cash equity needed to close.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged $2,450,000 in SBA Owner-User Acquisition (90% Loan-to-Purchase Price) financing for an office/industrial flex property located in North Hollywood, CA. The Sponsor approached GSP to assist with the acquisition of the Property to relocate their company headquarters. The Sponsor required a flexible loan with high leverage and a low interest rate. The Sponsor had already entered escrow at the time of approaching GSP and was on a strict timeline with only 60 days to close. GSP quickly and successfully structured a first trust deed from a bank as well as an SBA B-piece to secure 90% of the purchase price. GSP was able to provide the Sponsor with a 25-year term, with the first 10 years fixed at a blended rate of 3.80%. The flexible prepayment structure is equal to 5-5-4-4-3-3-2-2-1-1. The high leverage loan allows the Sponsor to use equity towards the continued growth of their business. Thanks to our long-standing relationship with the SBA Certified Development Company (CDC), GSP was able to meet the Sponsor’s deadline and close this transaction in under 60 days.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged $44,500,000 for heavy bridge financing in San Louis Obispo, CA to recapitalize and fund construction for additional uses on an existing asset. The completed Project will include five uses including multifamily, warehouse, office, self-storage, and a brewery. This is among the largest private projects actively in development in the local market.
The Sponsor has been very creative in obtaining the highest and best use for the asset in a supply constrained market. Despite challenges facing construction projects in today’s volatile commodity market, GSP was able to secure a capital provider to structure high leverage supported by the strong market and underwriting.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured $5,376,000 of bridge financing for the refinance of a two-tenant industrial building in Fairfield, CA. The Property is favorably located within a mile of three major freeways and is only a 45-minute drive to both San Francisco and Sacramento. The building is currently 100% occupied, but there were cash-out proceeds required to reposition the Property to make it more attractive to potential buyers. The 26,000 SF building also has 95,000 SF of improved yard space adjacent, which is a major draw for the current tenants. GSP was able to secure a lender that could get comfortable with a majority of the income being derived from the yard space. The financing was comprised of a senior and a mezzanine loan. The blended terms provided a 60% LTC priced at 7.43% with a 1.20% origination fee. The 12-month terms provide the Sponsor the ability to execute his business plan.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured non-recourse bridge financing for a manufacturing facility in California. The Sponsor’s goal was to expand their manufacturing facility from 120,000 s.f. to 200,000 s.f. for their current tenant and provide them with clean manufacturing and dock high loading doors in the warehouse. GSP was able to secure a lender that found the location of the Property desirable due to the close proximity and access to major highways, the Tenant’s long-term investment in the building/equipment and most importantly, the Sponsor’s strong experience and track record.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged $20,675,000 in post-closing financing collateralized by an 185K square foot infill flex/R&D industrial asset located in Los Angeles, CA. The recapitalization repatriated equity and provided future funding for the renovation of the Property.

The asset provides optionality for multiple upside scenarios such as sound stage and creative office use. The business plan is to renovate the Property and cater to growing demand from the many media, entertainment and technology tenants in the Los Angeles market.

Amidst a time of market volatility and economic uncertainty, George Smith Partners was able to identify a capital source that understood both the value of the asset and the ability of the Sponsor to execute on the intended business plan.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged $44,000,000 in non-recourse, non-participating bridge financing at 95% of cost for the lease-up and repositioning of a 5-property, 650,000 SF, industrial complex located on the West Coast. The Sponsor purchased the complex vacant and the seller carried the first mortgage for 4 months. From the open of escrow with the Seller, to the closing of this loan, there was over 82% of the available space leased making up 77% of rent with letters of intent for the remainder of the space. Although this was during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there was considerable deferred maintenance and capital expenditure required to get the properties rent ready, the space leased quickly due to the Sponsor expertise and relationships and a strong submarket.

The loan provides funds for the deferred maintenance, the capital expenditures, the tenant improvements, leasing commission and carry until the tenants are in and paying rent. Additionally, there is an earn-out of $2,000,000 after the 18th month as the asset has other potential value-add attributes.

Transaction Description:
George Smith Partners placed a $4,700,000 refinance loan with cash-out for a single-tenant industrial property in El Cajon, San Diego County. This highly specialized facility is one of only two locations in the US that is approved to manufacture key components and assemblies for military and commercial aircraft currently in service.

The Sponsor acquired the Property in 2018 with a bridge acquisition loan. In March 2020, GSP was engaged to refinance the maturing bridge loan with permanent financing including cash-out proceeds. However, the California “stay-at-home” order was issued soon thereafter resulting in a challenging lending market for the Property.

GSP helped the lenders become comfortable by focusing on the low leverage, the strength of the Sponsor and the Tenant, and the fact that the Property continued to operate at full capacity without interruption due to be a critical Department of Defense supplier. In addition, the Tenant recently exercised its third extension option to the existing lease with an increased cash flow closer to market rents, thereby continuing its long-term commitment to the Facility.

While holdback reserves are increasingly common in the current environment, GSP negotiated to have reserve payments deferred until the fourth year of the loan and on a monthly schedule instead of the typical lump sum holdback at closing.