Berkadia Secures $92M for American Greetings Headquarters

Berkadia, New York, secured $92 million for American Greetings Corp., a greeting cards brand headquartered in Westlake, Ohio. 

Mark Vogel, Senior Managing Director in Berkadia’s Cleveland office, secured the loan for the firm’s new headquarters building from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. 

Vogel said the deal took more than six months. It closed on October 5. 

The 10-year loan included a 4.8 percent fixed interest rate, a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio and a 25-year amortization schedule. 

American Greeting’s new headquarters occupies a 13.5-acre property at One American Road in Crocker Park, 20 miles from downtown Cleveland. The firm previously occupied a 1.6-million-square-foot space in Brooklyn, Ohio. 

Berkadia also refinanced Ocean Walk, a 296-unit multifamily property in Key West, Fla. Senior Managing Director Mitch Sinberg of Berkadia’s South Florida office arranged the $70 million loan with Senior Director Brad Williamson and Associate Director Matt Robbins.

The borrower, a joint venture between Mast Capital, Miami Beach, Fla. and Rockpoint Group, Boston, received an adjustable-rate Fannie Mae execution.    

“We were able to recapitalize the borrower after they added tremendous value to the asset,” Sinberg said. “At the same time, we structured the loan to enable the borrower to add units to the property after closing.”