Dealmaker: Berkadia Provides $63M for Multifamily Properties

November 20, 2017

Berkadia, New York, provided $62.9 million in Freddie Mac funds for multifamily communities in New Jersey and California.

In Galloway Township, N.J., Berkadia Managing Director Jim Badolato and Senior Analyst Patti Henne structured a $41 million Freddie Mac first mortgage for The Woods at Blue Heron Pines. The new 10-year financing included a sub-4 percent fixed interest rate and five years of interest-only payments, Badolato said.

The borrower was an entity controlled by DiLucia Management, Lansdale, Pa.

“Freddie Mac understood the fundamental strengths of the property and location,” Badolato said. “Despite proximity to Atlantic City, there is a diverse base of employment drivers and a limited supply of quality rental housing in the area.” He noted major employers within five miles of the property include AtlantiCare’s headquarters, the Atlantic City Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center, which employs more than 2,500 people.

The Class A Woods at Blue Heron Pines has 330 units on 58 acres near retired Philadelphia Eagle Ron Jaworski’s Blue Heron Pines Golf Club. DiLucia developed the property in 2001 and it has remained at 95-plus percent occupancy ever since.

In La Mesa, Calif., Berkadia provided $21.9 million in Freddie Mac financing for Interstate Equities Corp., Los Altos, Calif., to acquire the 133-unit Verse La Mesa apartments.

IEC paid $33.95 million for the property. Berkadia Managing Directors Shane Shafer, Ed Rosen and John Chu and Directors Kyle Pinkalla and Erin Dammen represented both buyer and seller in the transaction.

The seven-year acquisition loan included a 2.98 percent adjustable interest rate at a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio.

“The markets outside the urban core of San Diego are experiencing some great opportunities for investors due to the area’s favorable fundamentals,” Shafer said. “Verse is an example of the tremendous interest investors have for value-add opportunities in the La Mesa submarket.”