Dealmaker: Meridian Capital Group Arranges $123M for Offices

Meridian Capital Group, New York, arranged 123.4 million for office properties in Los Angeles and Tampa, Fla.

In Los Angeles, Meridian Senior Managing Director Seth Grossman and Vice Presidents Steve Edelstein and Jackie Tran secured $105 million to refinance the 11-story SAG-AFTRA Plaza building at 5757 Wilshire Boulevard.

J.H. Snyder Co. owns the property and uses it for its headquarters. The SAG-AFTRA Plaza caters to entertainment, media and communication-oriented industries, including its largest tenant and namesake, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. The 548,000-square-foot office property includes 28,000 square feet of street-front restaurant and retail space.

The 10-year fixed-rate life insurance company loan priced below 4.00 percent with full-term interest-only payments.

“Spanning many decades, the J.H. Snyder Co. developed millions of square feet of Class A real estate along Wilshire Boulevard, helping form the Miracle Mile into what it is today,” Grossman said. “This refinance assists with the continuance of that formation, as this financing was critical in facilitating a necessary lot-split, which will result in further development by their firm on the newly created parcel.”

Meridian also arranged $18.4 million for TriOut Advisory Group, Miami. The firm acquired a three-story Tampa single-tenant office building.

Meridian Vice President Aryeh Meiteles and Managing Director Noam Kaminetzky negotiated the financing. The four-year loan from a bridge lender floats at 520 basis points over the 30-day LIBOR with full-term interest-only payments.

Located at 6700 Lakeview Center Drive, the 186,000-square-foot building is fully occupied by HealthPlan Services Inc. with a lease that extends until 2022. Kaminetzky said lenders expressed some concerned with the loan takeout if the tenant chose not to renew.

“Meridian worked with the lender to create a mechanism whereby the lender was provided with downside protection at various checkpoints throughout the loan but at the same time provided the borrower with the flexibility to execute on his business plan” Meiteles said.

The 1984-vintage property recently received $3.3 million in renovations and modernizations. The oversized lot also has existing entitlements in place to construct an additional 191,000-square-foot office building.