JV Lands $54M Refi for Connecticut Portfolio
CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance group arranged the financing, which was provided by Thorofare Capital, to retire the original senior construction loan for Berkeley at Waypointe and Quincy Lofts, located in Norwalk.
The Berkeley and Quincy Lofts at Waypointe. Rendering courtesy of Thorofare Capital
A joint venture between affiliates of Alex. Brown Realty Inc. and Belpointe Cos. has secured $53.5 million in senior debt to refinance a Norwalk, Conn. multifamily portfolio featuring two apartment properties: Berkeley at Waypointe and Quincy Lofts, which feature 196 apartments in total.
Berkeley at Waypointe is located at 500 West Ave. and offers 129 one-and two-bedroom homes above 10,402 square feet of street-level retail. Quincy Lofts is situated at 30 Orchard St. and consists of 69 loft-style homes. The properties are located within a block of one another in the Waypointe submarket, and combined are 98 percent occupied.
Shawn Rosenthal, Jason Gaccione and Sunny Somaiya of the New York City office of CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance group arranged the financing, which was provided by Thorofare Capital.
Proceeds from the five-year, floating-rate, interest-only financing are being used to retire the original senior construction loan. The proceeds will also provide future funding to cover expenses corresponding to the lease-up of the retail space.
Twin challenges
Refinancing featured two major challenges. “First, the transaction needed to close in less than 30 days, which is a very tight timeframe for a transaction of this size, especially when the underwriting is for two separate buildings,” Felix Gutnikov, principal & head of origination at Thorofare, told Multi-Housing News. “All while keeping the financing terms very attractive and competitive in today’s ‘loan-hungry’ capital markets.
“Second, there was also a limited amount of data—sales comps, rent surveys, etc.—because the Norwalk multifamily market as a whole is not that large. New construction has risen significantly in both the Stamford market and Norwalk submarket. Currently, there are [more than] 2,300 units under construction in the Stamford market and 1,500 units that delivered to the Norwalk sub-market since the beginning of 2014.”
Nearby is the SoNo Metro North Train Station. Both properties run complimentary shuttles to and from that stop.
Elevated terrace
Managed by Greystar, the apartment communities provide high-end features and finishes, such as restaurant-grade stainless steel appliances, floor-to-ceiling windows, and ceramic tiled bathrooms with full-sized vanities. Among the most attention-getting amenities is an elevated terrace.
“The sponsor team overseeing the assets is led by former AvalonBay divisional and operational executives who have a 25-year track record of developing, leasing and managing luxury apartments,” Gutnikov added. “We felt comfortable that with Greystar handling day-to-day property management, the asset’s high occupancy would sustain even with the new supply risk in Norwalk and Stamford.”
Last month, Alex. Brown Realty partnered with Student Quarters to acquire University Flats for $8.7 million, a 60-unit student housing community in Birmingham, Ala.
