Dealmaker: Gantry Arranges $75M in Financing
Gantry Inc., San Francisco, arranged $74.8 million in five transactions in Washington, Arizona and California.
The deals included two Puget Sound-area loans arranged by Mike Wood, Principal in the firm’s Seattle office. They include a $17 million loan for the Brewery Blocks, a mixed-use asset with 49 apartment units in Tacoma, Wash., and a $7.8 million deal for the Seaway Business Park Buildings G & H industrial property in Everett, Wash.
In the multifamily sector, Adam Parker, Principal in Gantry’s Phoenix office, secured $15 million in financing for The Woods Apartments, a 359-unit garden-style community in Tucson, Ariz. Funded by Fannie Mae, the 15-year interest rate was below 3 percent.
Gantry also secured $35 million in permanent financing for two Class B San Francisco office buildings. Located at 1301 Sansome Street and 945 Battery Street, both collaterals sit just north of San Francisco’s Financial District.
Principal George Mitsanas and Senior Associate Josh Natker in Gantry’s Los Angeles office secured the 15-year loans from a correspondent life insurance company. Gantry will service the loans.
Mitsanas said his firm has refinanced the assets three times since the mid-2000s. “Our process for the current financing started in late 2019 and we reached an agreement with the lender in February 2020,” he said. “As we were preparing for loan committee, the bottom fell out of the financial markets because of the pandemic caused by COVID-19. Fortunately, our life company correspondent stood tall and closed the deal in May on the exact terms bargained for in the loan application.”
The first property, 1301 Sansome, is a six-story office building totaling 38,868 square feet. Built between 1910 and 1940 and renovated in 1999, the building is fully leased to natural personal care product firm Grove Collaborative. 945 Battery is also a six-story office building comprising 68,000 square feet. Built in 1911 and renovated in 1999, 945 Battery is currently leased to software firms Second Life and Lightstep.
Gantry Principal and Chief Financial Officer Michael Heagerty, CCMS, called it an encouraging sign that the transaction pipeline continues to build despite a global pandemic. “We remain cautious but are optimistic that volume will grow as the financing market continues to gain a better grasp of economic conditions as the COVID-19 situation evolves,” he said. “We expect to see lenders apply more structure to deals to help mitigate disruptions, such as adding interest reserves, as well as being selective about which markets and asset types they pursue and closely tracking factors such as rent collections.”
