All terms confidential

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners structured and placed a $460,000,000 non-recourse senior construction loan for the ground up development of Block 216, a landmark 1.1 million square-foot ground-up high-rise development in the heart of Portland, Oregon’s central business district. The 35-story luxury high-rise will be anchored by a 251-key five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel, the first five-star hotel in Portland. The development also features Ritz-Carlton branded residences, 140,000 square feet of Class A office space, and 7,800 square feet of ground floor retail, which will open up to a pedestrian “festival street.” Located at the intersection of the Central Business and Pearl Districts, Block 216 spans a full city block. This is extremely rare in Portland. Upon completion in 2023 Block 216, will be the fourth tallest high rise in Portland and the largest tower in Portland based on square footage.

Challenges:

Block 216 represents the first luxury, five star hotel and branded residential project in Oregon. It is also the first project with amenities common to luxury properties but absent in Portland thus far. This ground up development is also a true mixed used project with four different uses (hotel, residential, office and retail) in a single building.

Solutions:

GSP focused on Portland’s incredibly strong underlying fundamentals, including: its population of 2.5 million; its unemployment rate 50 basis points lower than the national average; its 1,200 tech companies (hence the name “Silicon Forest”); the impressive number of blue chip companies with presences in the market; and, the considerable number of institutional investors active in the market. GSP also stressed the Project’s unparalleled location and walkability to every major amenity in Downtown Portland as well as the 30 new conferences booked at the Portland Convention Center as a significant demand driver for five star accommodations.

GSP executed significant and high profile marketing to ensure the Project was appropriately received in the capital markets. These efforts resulted in a highly structured, non-recourse execution in less than six months from engagement.

Advisors

Evan Kinne Managing Director, GSP; CEO, AXCS Capital

Ed Steffelin Managing Director, GSP; President, AXCS Investments

Rate: 8.4%
Term: 1 Year and 1 Year extension
Amortization: Interest only
LTV: 80% Cost
Prepayment: None
Guaranty: Non-Recourse
Lender Fee: 1%

Transaction Description:

After securing an initial loan of $9,700,000 for a well-located Orange County, California retail center, George Smith Partners arranged an additional $1,500,000 in construction/renovation mezzanine capital. This brought the total debt capitalization to $11,200,000. The Sponsor has been renovating the center over the last year but went over-budget due to increasing construction costs.

Challenges:

The Sponsor had used a debt-fund loan to renovate the aging shopping center and make it more vibrant. However, due to rising construction costs, the Sponsor went over budget with the property renovations. Most lenders are not comfortable financing a project that already has expensive debt and is also experiencing cost overruns.

Solutions:

GSP ultimately demonstrated the lender’s last dollar basis was very conservative compared to the as-stabilized value of the property following renovations. GSP utilized one of our relationship lenders to provide the emergency capital and was able to close the transaction within just five days. This allowed the Sponsor to complete construction and focus on leasing the center.

Rate: Fixed at 4.75% for 5 Years
Term: 10 Years
Amortization: 30 years
Prepay: None
LTV: 62%
DCR: 1.25
Guaranty: Recourse

Transaction Description:

George Smith Partners secured $3,744,000 of permanent financing for the acquisition of 3 single-tenant Starbucks. The drive-thru locations all have new leases with at least 8 years of term left and tenant options to extend. Each property is located in a different state across the middle of the country (Texas, Louisiana, Illinois). The Sponsor wanted to have a single capital source finance all three properties for ease of closing and ongoing servicing. GSP was able to find a lender that could accommodate the variety of locations and provide the same terms for each acquisition. All of the loans are fixed at 4.75% for 5 years and have a 30-year amortization schedule. Loan amounts were sized to a 1.25x DSCR, which resulted in an average LTV of 62%. The recourse financings do not have any prepayment penalties and can be refinanced at any time.

Advisors

Steve Bram Managing Director & Principal / GSP Co-Founder