Transaction Overview
George Smith Partners successfully arranged financing for a 25,000 sq ft office property in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle. The Sponsor purchased the Property to capitalize on the success of the adjacent property, the Seattle Design Center, which is showroom space for design-related tenants.
Challenges: While the Sponsor intends to add value through improving the physical appearance of the building and lease it to creative or design-related tenants, the building had existing tenants at below market rent with lease expirations through 2021. Many lenders were not comfortable with the Sponsors ability to negotiate with the existing tenants to vacate. Lenders were also concerned with the depth of tenants in this submarket as it is in the midst of gentrification.
Solutions: George Smith Partners located a lender that was comfortable with the Sponsors track record in the submarket and with the value-add business plan. The Lender was able to provide a short-term, fixed rate loan that provided reserves for the capital improvements to the façade and tenant improvements for the interior units.
