Transaction Overview
George Smith Partners successfully placed $14,050,000 in construction financing, which funded 89% of total project cost, for the acquisition and reposition of a 79-unit, mixed-use property in a desirable and historic St. Louis City neighborhood. GSP was engaged by the Borrower when its original lender, a national REIT, was forced to re-trade the Borrower on loan terms due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon being engaged, GSP was able to source the replacement debt and equity in time to close the transaction without a material delay. The financing structure included a senior loan to 81% loan-to-cost and a preferred equity investment with last-dollar exposure to 89% of total project cost with a 4.90% blended cost of capital. GSP leveraged its expertise of the St. Louis market, long-standing lender relationships, and capital markets creativity to achieve the Borrower’s goals of minimizing cash equity invested into the Project so that it can keep a substantial cash reserve to pursue additional projects which are expected to present themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
