Land

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged a $5,400,000 financing facility for the acquisition of a 29,930 square foot vacant parking lot in the trendy Highland Park submarket of Los Angeles, CA. In addition to purchase financing, the facility offers good news money for predevelopment costs related to the Sponsors planned 150-unit co-living community on the site, which will be a by-right development and will take advantage of TOC Tier 1 incentives.

Co-living has emerged as a remedy to address the acute shortage of affordable housing across the country by offering tenants fully furnished, highly amenitized units with the cost of utilities, common area maintenance, and other traditional living spaces bundled into the rent. The Property is within a 5-minute walk from both York Boulevard and Figueroa Street, Highland Park’s two main amenity-rich thoroughfares lined with shopping and dining destinations.

By focusing attention on land lenders who are active in the local area, GSP identified a capital provider who is familiar with the local market and also understands the importance that the co-living space will serve in the greater rental market going forward. The loan was uniquely structured to disburse the balance of the down payment in addition to sponsor equity at closing. The remaining proceeds will be reserved in a holdback feature to cover the predevelopment soft costs in order to bring the project to permit-ready status. The interest-only predevelopment land loan was priced at 8.50%, with a 15-month term and one 6-month extension option. The loan closed in less than 30 days from application.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged a $5,400,000 financing facility for the acquisition of a 29,930 square foot vacant parking lot in the trendy Highland Park submarket of Los Angeles, CA. In addition to purchase financing, the financing facility offers good news money for predevelopment costs related to the Sponsors planned 150-unit co-living community on the site, which will be a by-right development and will take advantage of TOC Tier 1 incentives.

Co-living has emerged as a remedy to address the acute shortage of affordable housing across the country by offering tenants fully furnished, highly amenitized units with the cost of utilities, common area maintenance, and other traditional living spaces bundled into the rent. The Property is within a 5-minute walk from Highland Park’s main amenity-rich thoroughfares lined with shopping and dining destinations.

By focusing attention on land lenders who are active in the local area, GSP identified a capital provider who is familiar with the local market and also understands the importance that the co-living space will serve in the greater rental market going forward. The loan was uniquely structured to disburse approximately the balance of the down payment in addition to sponsor equity at closing, with the remaining proceeds to be reserved in a holdback feature that will cover the predevelopment soft costs in order to bring the Project to permit-ready status. The interest-only predevelopment land loan was priced at 8.50%, with a 15-month term and one 6-month extension option. The loan closed in less than 30 days from application.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully arranged a $2,800,000 non-recourse, short term acquisition loan for a 4.21-acre parcel near Stevenson Ranch in the Santa Clarita Valley of California. The Sponsor needed financing in a very short timeframe. GSP was able to source a private lender who closed in three business days. The loan offers 60 days of bridge term while the Borrower seeks a construction-to-permanent solution for a fully entitled, six-building, 966-unit, climate controlled, Class-A self-storage facility expected to complete construction in late 2020. The loan is non-recourse and the Lender did not require an appraisal or other third-party reports, thanks to the low leverage and strength of the Sponsor.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners placed the cash-out non-recourse refinance of an improved San Fernando Valley lot that had been vacated while the Developer moves forward on an up-zone re-entitlement. Our Sponsor will double the available units on this over-sized lot bringing needed housing to this dense in-fill tract. Proceeds beyond the existing payoff will be used to cover soft costs and will be invested back into the site development. The exit will be via a ground-up construction loan to be funded late 2019. Closing occurred within two weeks from executed application to funding. No appraisal was required for funding. Fixed at 7.50%, the non-recourse loan does not carry a prepayment penalty.

Transaction Description:
George Smith Partners secured $7,650,000 in proceeds for the acquisition of a 12.66 acre parcel of undeveloped and unentitled land in a major city in the Western United States. The proceeds represent 65% of the appraised value of the land. The loan carries a 12 month term with two, 6 month extensions available. The loan is fixed at a rate of 10% annually and is prepayable at any time.

Challenges:
GSP surveyed the market and found that many lenders would only finance the acquisition at 50% LTV. Other lenders could meet the Sponsor’s desired leverage but quoted an interest rate in the low teens. Some capital providers were concerned about the Sponsor’s ability to secure a takeout construction loan next year, and would only finance the purchase if pre-leasing was in place. The Sponsor intended to sell a small portion of the land shortly after closing. The parcel is located in a market that is growing rapidly, but experienced a large downturn during the last recession. There is still a lot of undeveloped land in the immediate area.

Solutions:
GSP provided extensive comparable data that demonstrated the Sponsor’s acquisition price per acre was well supported by the market. Since national lenders were hesitant to provide sufficient leverage, GSP focused on local lenders that know the market well. Emphasis was placed on the enormous amount of new development currently underway in the same market as the subject, including a new big box retail store slated to open later this year. The Sponsor had already successfully developed a mixed-use project in the same submarket, demonstrating their ability to execute a complete business plan. The Lender provided a release provision that allows part of the parcel to be sold to a third party without the requirement of any additional pay down from the Sponsor. The third party appraisal supported a value higher than the purchase price, validating the Lender’s cost basis and resulting in them increasing the loan amount while we were under application.

Transaction Description:

GSP arranged the $8,700,000 non-recourse first mortgage from a REIT to refinance a maturing bridge loan on a recently entitled retail site located along a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles. The loan provides an additional 12 months of term while the Borrower evaluates whether to re-entitle the site for a mixed-use project, or move forward with in-place entitlements. Although the loan is non-recourse, the Lender did not require an appraisal or other third-party reports, nor did it require an interest or carry reserve despite insufficient cash flow to cover debt service. Sized to 60% of value, the loan priced at 6.90% fixed for the 12-month loan duration.

Transaction Description:

GSP arranged the $9,200,000 non-recourse first mortgage from a REIT to refinance two separate maturing bridge loans on two non-contiguous, recently entitled land parcels totaling 24,725 square feet located along a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles. The loan repaid existing debt, covered 100% of closing costs, and repatriated equity to the borrower. The loan provides an additional 12 months of term while the borrower pre-leases the project and finalizes construction drawings. Although the loan is non-recourse, the lender did not require an appraisal or other third-party reports, nor did it require an interest or carry reserve although there is no in-place cash flow on either parcel. Sized to 60% of value, the loan priced at 6.90% fixed for the 12-month loan duration.

Transaction Description:

GSP arranged the $8,750,000 ($935/Building SF) non-recourse first mortgage from a REIT to refinance a maturing bridge loan on a 29,500 square foot land parcel located along a major thoroughfare in Coastal Los Angeles. The Borrower recently entitled the land for a retail redevelopment and is now pre-leasing the Project. The loan repaid the existing debt, covered 100% of closing costs, and repatriated equity to the Borrower. The loan provides an additional 12 months of term while the Borrower pre-leases the Project. Although the loan is non-recourse, the Lender did not require an appraisal or other third-party reports, nor did it require an interest or carry reserve although there is no in-place cash flow. Sized to 60% of value, the loan priced at 6.90% fixed for the 12-month loan duration.

GSP arranged the $7,250,000 ($328/Land SF, $1,375/Building SF) non-recourse first mortgage from a debt fund to refinance a maturing bridge loan on a 22,150 square foot land parcel located along a major thoroughfare in coastal Los Angeles. The Borrower recently entitled the land for a retail redevelopment and is now pre-leasing the to-be-constructed improvements. The loan repaid the existing debt, covered 100% of closing costs, and provides the borrower with an additional 12 months of loan term while it pre-leases the project and gains final site plan approval from the City. Even though the loan is non-recourse, the Lender did not require an appraisal or other third-party reports, nor did it require an interest or carry reserve although there is no in-place cash flow. Sized to 60% of value, the loan priced at 6.90% fixed for the 12-month loan duration.

George Smith Partners arranged pre-development financing for a parcel of land strategically located one block from Hollywood Boulevard, in Hollywood, California. The land is fully entitled for the ground-up development of 28 multifamily units, with the potential for a density bonus as the parcel is located within a Transit Oriented Development district. The pre-development loan allowed the Sponsor to “cash out” appreciated equity to pursue other development projects and to use excess loan proceeds to finance the costs of density bonus application. The lender was able to get comfortable with the re-capitalization of the land with limited cash flow, due to the strong location, market fundamentals and experienced sponsorship.

GSP arranged the $21,025,000 ($175/Land SF), non-recourse first mortgage from a debt fund for the acquisition of an infill 2.76-acre land parcel located adjacent to a major Southern California university. The acquisition loan will be taken out with a construction loan upon receipt of entitlements for a large-scale student housing redevelopment. GSP worked with borrower and lender to tailor a unique loan structure that provides financing during the entitlement period via an interest and carry reserve. The lender was able to provide a high-leverage loan on an unentitled parcel that provides no cash flow due to the project’s streamlined “by right” entitlement process, experienced sponsorship, and strong market fundamentals. Sized to 75% of as-is value, the acquisition loan priced at 7.25% over One-Month LIBOR for the 24-month loan duration.

George Smith Partners arranged $12,500,000 in non-recourse acquisition debt secured by both a 58,237 sf lot containing a K-12 Prep School and a 29,400 sf lot containing a largely vacant retail center. The properties are situated in the Koreatown and Chinatown district of Los Angeles respectively. GSP targeted a capital provider comfortable with foreign sponsorship, proposed entitlements, religious relationship of the property, quick closing timeline, and the ability to focus on the future value of the land parcel. Sized to 45% of the $28MM total purchase price and fixed at 8.50% on an interest only basis, the non-resource facility has an initial term of 18 months followed by an optional 6-month extension. The capital provider closed the loan in 14 business days, allowing the Sponsor to close on the property quickly given the sellers strict timeline. All prepayment penalties were waved, allowing the Sponsor the flexibility to refinance at a lower rate once entitlements or construction financing are obtained.