$4,235,000 Acquisition Bridge Financing for a 19 Unit Mixed-Use Property in Santa Barbara, CA

Transaction Description: George Smith Partners arranged $4,235,000 of acquisition/bridge financing for a 19 unit residential mixed-use property in Santa Barbara, CA. The Property, originally constructed as a 10 unit apartment building in 1951, was converted to mixed-use with a second and third floor office and residential penthouse addition in 1973. The change in use was a response at the time to demand for office given the Property’s close proximity to the popular State Street retail corridor just a block away. The Borrower plans to seek approval to convert the 1973 office addition portion of the project back to residential use and lease all but two front commercial units with long term leases. The challenge was finding a Lender that could underwrite the business plan and get comfortable with take-out financing of this mixed-use residential/office project. GSP was successful in identifying a lender that could get comfortable with the uncertainty of the Borrower’s ability to convert the project to mostly residential.