In the Press

When Southern California native Jonathan Lee, joined George Smith Partners (GSP), a leading real estate capital advisement firm in Los Angeles, in 2005, he was a relative newbie to the world of construction financing. Originally, he had set his sights on a job at the U.S. State Department. After graduating from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2001 with a degree in political science, he headed to D.C. where he worked as a foreign service officer at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Va. for two years before tiring of the bureaucracy. He decided to return to the West Coast where he worked for the now-defunct MWH Development from 2003 to 2005 before landing at GSP, where he currently serves as a principal and managing director specializing in construction financing.  Click here to read the full article.

Zack Streit, Vice President at George Smith Partners explains solutions for when your EB-5 raise has come up short.

There has been a considerable slowdown in the EB-5 market over the last two years. What was once a fertile and cheap source of financing for multifamily and hotel developers is largely absent. The two primary reasons for the slowdown are retrogression (over-allocation of visas to Chinese investors) and Chinese government capital controls. The wait time for EB-5 investors to obtain visas in the U.S. has doubled from a 3-5 year timeframe to 7-10 years…

Click here to read the full article as seen in the August 17, 2018 GlobeSt publication.

Gary Mozer, Principal/Co-Founder of George Smith Partners explains “How to Secure Financing for Retail In Today’s Climate” in Shopping Center Business online.

Retail financing, both debt and equity, has become a challenge for many owners, developers and investors throughout the U.S. based on negative press about retail, a perception that the internet will take down many tenants and the weak financial condition of a number of large retailers. Though capital markets are strong, many property owners and investors are finding it difficult to identify lenders willing to provide the type of financing they need for their retail developments, acquisitions and redevelopments. Some lenders are not providing enough money. In other cases, borrowers are finding that the cost of capital is not feasible. Often, lenders and investors aren’t saying no —they are simply offering capital at too high a rate. This squeeze could not come at a more pivotal moment for retail investors…

Click here to read the full article:

http://www.shoppingcenterbusiness.com/scblog/how-to-secure-financing-for-retail-in-today-s-climate

 

With interest rates increasing, some investors are taking a moment to review their loan portfolio to see where they can mitigate the potential impact of higher rates. G.H. Palmer has been fervently combing through his portfolio for nearly a year—and he has seen big benefits in refinancing early and paying a pre-payment penalty to get into a more profitable loan structure. Gary Tenzer, co-founding principal at George Smith Partners, has been guiding the process. The most recent refinance under this model is the $158.8 million in financing for Colony Townhomes, a 752-unit multifamily property located in the Canyon Country community of Santa Clarita, which GlobeSt.com has learned of exclusively.

Click here to read the exclusive story published in GlobeSt.

“Floating-rate debt offered by banks for ground-up construction was very attractive in the recent past. With the increase to LIBOR, rising interest rates and the fear of unpredictability in the capital markets, however, borrowers are are more attracted to longer term debt construction financing with fixed rates at funding for the entire loan term. Construction to perm financing and takeout financing upon completion of construction – prior to stabilization with life insurance companies is becoming more popular”.

Click here to read The Popularity of Life Company Construction to Permanent, Takeout Financing by Antonio Hachem.

Dutchints Development Spends $48MM for Los Altos Property

The debt portion of the financing was provided by George Smith Partners, which helped arrange the high-leverage $41,000,000 bridge loan for the acquisition. We were able to fulfill this requirement in a 60-day period and secure financing for 24 months at an 85 percent loan-to-purchase price.

Click here to read the full article.

G.H. Palmer, a Southern California-based commercial real estate developer, has obtained more than $233.6 million in cash-out refinancing for a multifamily portfolio.  The properties, the Medici and Orsini I, are in downtown Los Angeles.  Gary M. Tenzer, principal and co-founder of George Smith Partners, oversaw the refinancing on behalf of G.H. Palmer, arranging the loan as interest-only for its entire term. Click here to read the full story.

 

Alina Mardesich was mentioned in SoCal Real Estate in reference to the $18,032,000 non-recourse, floating-rate bridge debt on an 85%+ occupied portfolio of multi-tenant office properties located in Orange County.  Click here to read the full story.

Gary Tenzer, Principal/Co-Founder of George Smith Partners gives his thoughts on if you should be a buyer or seller in the next 18 months and why.  Click here to watch the video from Connect LA.

MidCap Financial Provides $17.9M Refinancing for Shopping Center in Sacramento

MidCap Financial has provided $17.9 million in refinancing for the repositioning and lease-up of Stockton Plaza, a grocery-anchored community shopping center in Sacramento. The borrower is Santa Monica, Calif.-based DPI Retail.

The borrower plans to renovate and repurpose the property, which Kmart formerly anchored. A regional grocery chain and national discount department store will be the new anchors at the renovated center. .

Read the full article here.

“Tourism, development and infrastructure activity are the driving factors behind the planned conversion of a 13-story office tower near Los Angeles World Airports into a dual-branded hotel.  The office structure at 5959 Century Blvd. will be renovated into a 129-room Hyatt House and 272-room Hyatt Place Hotel for Hyatt Hotels Corp. of Chicago, according to investment banker George Smith Partners.  The Century City-based firm arranged $50 million in construction financing for the conversion project on behalf of the owner, a limited liability entity named 5959 and an affiliate of West Los Angeles hotel financier and developer California Real Estate Regional Center…”

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David Pascale Jr., Senior Vice President of George Smith Partners was asked, “How many Dodger games did you go to this year?”
“I attended eight games, including two World Series home games. As an avid fan, I have been going to games since 1969. My love of the team started when I was listening to Vin Scully on the radio and keeping score in a scorebook at home.”

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