BEVERLY HILLS, CA-A joint venture of locally based KennedyWilson and New York City's LeFrak Organization has refinanced athree-property multifamily portfolio with a $71.2 million loan at a4.39% interest rate. The refinancing is part of a round ofmultifamily-related activities lately at Beverly Hills-basedKennedy Wilson, which also recently launched its third majorhigh-rise condominium project in Los Angeles’ Koreatown, where thecompany’s business activity in the area now totals approximately$400 million.

The new debt for the three multifamily properties is a 10-yearloan at fixed-rate financing that represents a rate reduction that"will allow the venture to materially lower the leverage on theportfolio, reducing interest expense by $1.5 million a year andthereby increasing income and cash flow,” commented Robert Hart,president and CEO of Kennedy Wilson Multifamily ManagementGroup.

The new financing was arranged by a CB Richard Ellis CapitalMarkets team including senior vice president Brian Eisendrath andJustin Arquilla in the company's Beverly Hills office, along withexecutive vice president Troy Tegeler in CBRE's Newport Beachoffice, who arranged the loan through its Fannie Mae DUS lendingprogram. Eisendrath commented that CBRE "was able to capitalize onthe strong sponsorship of the KW-LeFrak venture and secureextremely favorable fixed-rate debt, creating additional cash flowto the partnership.”