$2,760,000 Take Out Loan for New, Two Tenant Retail Building on Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica

Transaction Description:  Our borrower purchased an older, single tenant building on Wilshire Blvd and redeveloped it (virtually from ground up) into a new, 2 tenant retail building leased to two restaurants. We were engaged to provide a full leverage, cash out permanent loan upon lease up and occupancy of the new tenants.

Challenge: First, the loan per square foot was very high. We needed a lender who understood street level retail in prime west side locations. Second, most lenders were unable to make the exception for a loan greater than 70% Loan to Cost. The borrower added significant value by obtaining strong, long term leases and wanted to us to obtain maximum proceeds. The property was under construction during the loan process and it was important to identify a lender that would not require lease seasoning prior to funding the loan.

Solution: GSP was able to identify a very aggressive local private bank that would understand the story of the asset and provide the borrower with a low LTV but high LTC loan. GSP was also able to negotiate a 1% prepayment penalty for four years and fund immediately after both tenants opened for business. The flexibility, leverage, and low cost of funds for 7 year fixed was exactly what the borrower was looking for.