$13,850,000 Non-Recourse Permanent Loan for a 20-Story Office Building; 4.00% Fixed 4 Years Interest Only, 73% LTV; St. Louis, MO

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully closed a refinance of a mixed-use office and retail property in Santa Barbara with a life insurance company. Despite the current market hesitation towards office properties, GSP was able to secure 10-year, fixed-rate financing given the lower leverage. GSP identified a Lender that was comfortable with the office component due to the 30+ small office users and no significant rollover risk. The largest tenants are a restaurant and movie theater which have been in occupancy for over 20 years.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged $16,380,000 in permanent financing for a newly stabilized, 7-story office building in the historic core of Downtown Los Angeles. The Sponsor purchased the Property in 2017 and completed a massive renovation to completely modernize the structure, façade, and interiors. The Sponsor leased 85% of the building prior to completing the renovation, including the ground-floor retail suite which is leased to a very high-end restaurant group. Some of the tenants are marijuana-related-businesses (“MRB’s”), meaning they service companies associated with marijuana, which made the financing challenging. GSP identified a recourse bank that was comfortable with the tenants and structured a five-year loan with an earn-out for additional leasing. The financing is fixed at an interest rate of 3.75% for the entirety of the loan term and will amortize over a 30-year period.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners arranged $5,350,000 in cash-out permanent financing for an owner-user office building located in Downtown Riverside, CA. The Sponsor approached GSP to help assist with the refinance of the Property to help relocate their company headquarters from the east coast. The Sponsor was on a strict deadline with their existing lender, only having 60 days to refinance before the current loan maturity. At the time of the refinance process, the Sponsor was close to completing exterior and interior renovations, including common area upgrades. GSP had to quickly identity a lender who could deliver certainty of execution on short notice, while delivering competitive terms. GSP was able to provide the Sponsor with a 25-year term, and the first 5 years being fixed at a low rate of 4%. The first 12 months are interest only, before converting to 25-year amortization thereafter. There is additional flexibility within the loan structure because there is no prepayment penalty. The cash-out loan allows the Sponsor to use more equity towards continuing to grow their business. Thanks to our long-standing relationship with the Lender, GSP was able to meet the Sponsors deadline and close this transaction within 60 days.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully placed $11,825,000 ($200/SF) in non-recourse financing that provided substantial cash-out to the Borrower with a 3.35% fixed-rate coupon for a 20-year loan term on a University-affiliated research and technology office building during the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan was creatively structured as a credit tenant lease financing due to the University’s backstopping the Property’s cash flow through a master lease. GSP worked with the Borrower, Lender, and University to amend the master lease so that it satisfied the needs of all three parties to facilitate both the refinancing as well as successful donation of the building to the University’s technology foundation, which occurred concurrently with the close of this financing.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners successfully placed $31,633,000 in permanent financing for an office building in the Salt Lake City area amidst election uncertainty and COVID-19. In particular, pandemic restrictions and the proliferation of “work from home” concerned many lenders that office may face a very slow recovery. Although the Building’s sole tenant was non-credit, their long lease term and exceptionally strong financials motivated the Lender to provide a competitive quote. Well-located in a fast-growing market, GSP structured loan terms that were highly conducive to the Sponsor’s long-term plan and guided the transaction to an expedient closing.

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners placed bridge to permanent financing for the creative office conversion of a co-working space on Abbot Kinney in Venice, California. GSP sourced a lender comfortable with the trophy project’s high basis per square foot and co-working business model. The Project is slated to be the only co-working option on Abbot Kinney, one of the most coveted retail thorofares in Los Angeles. The 4.75% fixed interest rate was locked at application and featured 24 months of interest only followed by 25-year amortization for the remaining 5-year term. The loan was recourse to an entity, as no warm body was available and carries no prepayment penalty.