JACKSONVILLE, FL—Condo owners are still turning around distressed assets—and some of them are relying on CMBS loans to do it. 22 Lantern LLC offers a prime example.

22 Lantern successfully completed a multi-year turnaround strategy on Lantern Square Apartments, a failed condo conversion project in Jacksonville, FL. Prudential Mortgage Capital Company loaned Lantern $18.1 million in a CMBS transaction.

Greenberg Traurig represented Lantern. The Greenberg team included Miami real estate attorneys Steve Bassin and Michael A. Roussis, with assistance from Noam Lipshitz, a tax attorney at the firm's Fort Lauderdale, FL office and Jennifer Hage, a paralegal in the Miami office.

“After it became clear that there was not a market for condos at this property, the owners began re-acquiring units to take advantage of the strong market demand for multifamily properties,” says Bassin. “Our firm is pleased to have helped our client make this turnaround a reality and capitalize on the current market trends.”

Lantern 22, which is managed by Vivian Zumot Dimond on behalf of several private investors, initially acquired the property in 2006. Just before the economic crash, the owners converted the apartment complex into a condo and began trying to sell units. Lantern used the CMBS loan to refinance an existing condo conversion mortgage loan and reacquire units from third parties in the building.

“With interest rates still at historic lows, now is the time to lock in rates for the next 10 years,” Charles H. Williams, senior vice president and southeast regional manager at KeyBank Real Estate Capital, tells GlobeSt.com. “When the inevitable rate rise occurs, it will move very quickly. I keep telling my clients that the best day to rate lock is today because you don't know what tomorrow will bring.”