MORGANTOWN, WV-Locally-based University Park at Evansdale LLC, a public private partnership, has secured $112.5 million from AIG Commercial Asset Finance to build a 425,000-square foot, 1,300-bed on-campus student housing complex at West Virginia University.

The non-recourse, three-year loan fully funds the cost of the project. It also qualified for an investment grade rating in part due to the connection between the project and West Virginia University.

AIGCAF scrambled to close the loan in time to meet the construction schedule, concurrently underwriting and documenting the loan through the holiday season, Mark Nesselroad of University Park, notes in a prepared statement. "We appreciative of their dedication and look forward to a lengthy relationship with them," he says.

This loan is an example of AIG Commercial Asset Finance's growing reach into the commercial real estate finance space. The division was solely focused on equipment finance until 2004 when it began broadening its product offerings. Even so, the focus has remained in this general neighborhood, offering secured and unsecured corporate, project finance and equipment finance opportunities to such industries as utilities, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare and high tech. But AIGCAF does offer select commercial real estate financing, often working in conjunction with the insurer's life insurance affiliates. A call to AIGCAF was not returned by presstime.