Dealmaker: Bellwether Enterprise Secures $24M for Medical Office Buildings

Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital LLC, Cleveland, closed a $23.5 million loan that refinanced two Torrance, Calif., medical office buildings.  

Representing a private family firm, Bellwether Enterprise Senior Vice President Kevin Mulvaney arranged the loan. “Both loans were debt-free assets that ownership was using to raise additional working capital for upcoming projects,” he said.

MetLife, New York, provided the financing for 3500 Lomita Avenue, a 37,143-square-foot, four-story building, and for 23560 Madison Street a 42,101-square-foot, two-story building. The family firm acquired both buildings in 2008. The Madison Street property was part of a 500,000-square-foot office park the borrower adapted into medical office space.

When Bellwether approached the market in late December, office assets were not a preferred loan category. But given the asset’s medical office status, an experienced borrower, good leasing with minimal rollover and approximately 50 percent credit tenancy, Bellwether obtained 10 credit offers with most at the full asking loan amount. MetLife rate-locked in late December with a coupon in the low three-percent range for a 10-year loan with a 30-year amortization schedule.