Jason Grimm and Akiva Friend
Meridian Capital Group, America’s most active dealmaker, arranged $14.6 million in acquisition financing for the Wild Pines Apartments, a multifamily property in Naples, FL on behalf of Axonic Properties, LLC.
The 36-month loan, provided by a balance sheet lender, features a rate of 1.75% over 30-day LIBOR and one year of interest-only payments. This transaction was negotiated by Meridian Senior Managing Director, Israel Schubert, Managing Director, Max Beyderman, and Senior Vice Presidents, Jason Grimm and Akiva Friend, who are all based in the company’s Boca Raton, FL office.
Located at 2580 Wild Pines Lane, Wild Pines Apartments features two-story buildings totaling 200 units. The property was constructed in two phases; Phase I is comprised of 96 market-rate units while Phase II consists of 104 rent-restricted units. All apartments offer nearly identical one-bedroom floorplans averaging 600 square feet, though Phase II units include additional patio and storage areas in addition to washer and dryer connections. The property features community benefits such as a laundry facility, two swimming pools, a gym, and covered parking.
Wild Pines Apartments is located less than two miles from downtown Naples, making the property a convenient home for anyone working in the greater area. Its advantageous location allows for a consistent waiting list and also makes the property a prime candidate for an interior and exterior value-add program.
“The sponsor had already received a quote for a very attractive Freddie Mac floating rate loan when we were initially approached for this deal,” said Mr. Friend. “Meridian was able to leverage our savings bank relationships to bring a par deal to the table at a lower spread and a higher strike price on the interest rate cap, significantly reducing the overall cost of the transaction for the client.”
“Our research showed that a recent change in the tax code could potentially benefit this asset,” said Mr. Schubert. “During the loan process, we were able to secure $500,000 of additional proceeds, further improving the deal’s IRR. The combination of our detailed market knowledge with our deep reach in the lending community produced a much better result than the sponsor had originally anticipated.”
Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group is America’s most active dealmaker and one of the nation’s leading commercial real estate finance, investment sales and retail leasing advisors. In 2017, Meridian closed over 3,000 transactions across more than 200 unique lenders and sold nearly $1 billion in commercial property. Meridian represents many of the world’s leading real estate investors and developers and the company’s expansive platform has specialized practices for a broad array of property types including office, retail, multifamily, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, and healthcare and senior housing properties. Meridian is headquartered in New York City with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, and California.
