Dealmaker: Meridian Capital Group Arranges $129M for Multifamily, Retail Properties

Meridian Capital Group, New York, arranged $128.7 million for apartment and retail assets in New Jersey, New York and Nevada.

In Clementon, N.J., Meridian Managing Director Zev Karpel and Vice President Judah Hammer arranged $71.3 million for SDK Apartments to refinance SDK Millbridge Gardens, an 848-unit Class A garden-style community.

The seven-year fixed-rate loan priced at 3.75 percent. Karpel called the rate below the market rate “despite the sharp rise in interest rates in November and December of 2016. Additionally, the lender held the rate for 100 days in a very uncertain environment,” he said.

On Manhattan’s Upper East Side Meridian Vice President Carol Shelby arranged $43.5 million in construction take-out financing for a Class A multifamily property at 501 East 74th Street.

Capital One Multifamily Finance, Bethesda, Md., provided the seven-year balance sheet loan at a 3.88 percent fixed rate.

The property is a 20-story, 82-unit building walking distance from Central Park, the East River Greenway and Lenox Hill Hospital, Shelby said.

Meridian also arranged $13.9 million in bridge financing for CIRE Equity to purchase Paradise Plaza Retail Center in Sparks, Nev. Managing Director Seth Grossman and Vice President Jackie Tran negotiated the three-year floating-rate loan from a regional bridge lender. The financing included full-term interest-only payments.

Located on Oddie Boulevard, Paradise Plaza is a 190,000-square-foot shopping center with tenants including Kmart, Walgreens, Family Dollar and U.S. Bank. The center’s trade area benefits from manufacturing and technology expansions including Tesla’s new “GigaFactory” lithium-ion battery factory.

“The loan provides an opportunity for the sponsor to acquire a prime asset in a growth market at well below replacement cost with near-term repositioning and tremendous upside potential,” Tran said. “The client will implement a value-add business plan that they have executed successfully across a number of similar projects.”