Dealmaker: Meridian Secures $93M for Mixed-Use and Retail Properties

Meridian Capital Group, New York, negotiated $88 million on behalf of Dranoff Properties to refinance a leasehold interest in The Left Bank mixed-use property in Philadelphia.

A regional balance sheet lender provided the five-year loan at 3.38 percent.  

Meridian Managing Director David Cohen and Senior Vice President Max Beyderman negotiated the deal. Built in 1929 at 3131 Walnut Street, The Left Bank was converted and gut renovated in 2001. The six-story building incudes 282 apartments, 98,700 square feet of office space and 22,600 square feet of retail space.  The property spans three acres in the University City neighborhood adjacent to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University and features frontage on Walnut Street, Chestnut Street and South 32nd Street.  

Meridian locked the loan at application to protect the sponsor from treasury volatility, Beyderman said. “Further, by coordinating efficiently with all parties to underwrite the ground lease structure and various income streams, we closed the loan in under 45 days,” he noted.  

In Oceanside, N.Y., Meridian Capital Group negotiated $5.1 million to refinance Brooke Plaza shopping center. The Long Beach Road property–the most-visited shopping center in Oceanside–includes 18,500 square feet anchored by a Trader Joe’s grocery store.  

The five-year loan from a regional balance sheet lender bears interest at 3.59 percent. Meridian Capital Group Associate David Oheb and Vice President David Hayum negotiated the loan, while Benjamin Oheb, Associate with Dressler Law LLP, New York, represented the borrower.