Stoneweg US Is First Borrower on New Freddie Mac Financing Facility

JRG Lofts. Image courtesy of Stoneweg US

Stoneweg U.S. LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in multifamily acquisitions developments, has closed on a new 15-year long-term credit facility with Freddie Mac Multifamily that will give the St. Petersburg, Fla., firm enhanced access to debt market capital markets. The vehicle, the first of its kind, will give Stoneweg expansion capacity and flexible financing terms.

Patrick Richard, CEO of Stoneweg US, said the newly created long-term financing facility will enable the firm to move swiftly in a dynamic and challenging market. He said the vehicle will also optimize the Stoneweg US portfolio and allow them to manage debt through access to broad-based competitive rates and deliver valued to investors.

Stoneweg US has completed $125 million in transactions through the facility with more than 75 percent of the unpaid principal balance supporting units affordable for residents earning 80 percent of Area Median Income or less. To date, more than 1,000 workforce housing units have been financed through the new vehicle.

The Stoneweg US Debt and Structured Finance team worked closely with Berkadia and Freddie Mac on the product that features tranched debt through an available combination of variable and fixed-rate advances, laddered loan maturities, prepayment flexibility and structured mechanisms that will allow Stoneweg US to achieve economic and operational efficiencies in acquiring, refinancing and selling assets.

Leena Amin, director of multifamily structured transactions for Freddie Mac, said in prepared remarks the facility provides the government-sponsored enterprise with a new way to support lending for mission-rich, affordable housing. Freddie Mac, Stoneweg US and Berkadia all expect the new product to be a significant financing instrument in the multifamily capital markets going forward.

This year, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were each granted $78 billion in allocations by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with half of the loans designated for mission-driven affordable housing. Through the end of October, Freddie Mac originated $51.2 billion and Fannie Mae originated $54.7 billion due to slower transactions in the multifamily market. Anticipating further contraction next year, FHFA has reduced the GSEs’ lending caps to $75 billion each for 2023.

Stoneweg US deals

The firm, which has a portfolio valuation of approximately $2 billion with more than 15,000 units, has been on an acquisition spree in recent months. October was a particularly active month. Stoneweg US reentered the Dallas market with the purchase of Montana at Bowery Park, a 161-unit community in the Lewisville/Flower Mound submarket from an undisclosed buyer.

Also in October, Stoneweg US expanded its Midwest footprint with the acquisition of JRG Lofts, a 178-unit, mixed-use apartment community in Covington, Ky., a Cincinnati suburb. The property was acquired in an off-market deal for $62 million from RealtyLink LLC. Earlier in October, Stoneweg US acquired Wild Oak Apartments, a 348-unit community in Kansas City, Mo., and the firm teamed with equity partner PGIM Real Estate to secure a $50 million loan to develop Lake Maggiore Apartments, a 330-unit multifamily development in St. Petersburg.

This summer, the company entered the Houston market with the acquisition of Ashford Apartments, a 312-unit property.