Dealmaker: Cohen Financial Secures $38M for Multifamily, Retail Properties

Cohen Financial, Chicago, secured $37.5 million for multifamily and retail properties in Illinois, California and Arizona.

In Chicago, Cohen Financial Partner and Managing Director Dan Rosenberg, Vice President Matt Terpstra and Associate Jason Keithof closed a $20.75 million development loan to build a 105-unit multifamily property at 710 West Grand in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The property is scheduled to deliver in late 2017. 

TCF Bank, Sioux Falls, S.D., supplied the funds for borrower Outlook Development Group, Franklin, Wis., and Wicker Park Apartments, Chicago.

“Because a lot of lenders are pulling back on construction loans for multifamily developments in Chicago, we exposed the property to the full spectrum of lender prospects,” Rosenberg said. “TCF Bank is a bit more aggressive than other lenders in this space; therefore, we were able to secure the best terms for our client.” 

In southern California, Cohen Financial Partner and Managing Director Cathy Bronkema arranged $8.9 million for Town Center Square in Rancho Cucamonga. The 60,500-square-foot Class A shopping center is fully leased to Aldi supermarket, Office Max and Barnes & Noble. Aldi recently signed a 12-year lease and the other two tenants have occupied their space since the property opened in 1996.

Bronkema said the fixed-rate non-recourse loan included a flexible prepayment structure and a 25-year amortization schedule. A private balance-sheet lender funded the loan, which paid off an existing bridge loan. 

“Our client secured an early rate lock in October in order to protect the quoted interest rate and loan amount from a rising interest rate environment surrounding the election,” Bronkema said. “And the 15-year fixed-rate loan term was attractive to our client as the loan term matched well with his overall business plan for the property.”

In Phoenix, Cohen Financial Managing Director Neal Churney secured $7.95 million for Wyndham Place Apartments, a 155-unit community built in 1979. He worked with FirstBank, Lakewood, Colo., to arrange a 10-year fixed-rate loan with a 30-year amortization schedule.

“This acquisition financing allows the buyer to implement a capital improvement plan for the property,” Churney said. “There is an interest-only portion built into the loan that rolls into a 30-year amortization schedule that gives our client excess cash flow to complete the upgrades and renovations.”