One of Portland’s Largest Loans Sets Construction in Motion

PORTLAND, OR—An affiliate of Mosaic Real Estate Investors provided BPM Real Estate Group with $460 million in senior construction financing for a 1-million-square-foot mixed-use development in downtown. With financing in place, Portland-based BPM, led by its founder Walter Bowen, will formally break ground this summer. Construction is expected to be completed in 2023.

The 35-story Block 216, which will encompass a full city block in the central business district, incorporates a mix of uses including 160,000 square feet of class-A office space, a 251-key Ritz Carlton Hotel (the first five-star hotel in Portland), 138 Ritz Carlton-branded residences and 7,800 square feet of ground-level retail which will open up to a pedestrian “festival street.”

“The high-leverage loan request, in and of itself, made this a very complex financing,” said Alex Ovalle, managing director and head of origination for Mosaic. “It was made even more complicated given that it is also the first development of its kind in Portland to offer this mix of uses. However, we were able to approach and understand the valuation of each of the separate components. Combined with the strength of sponsorship, it created a situation that was perfect for us. As a result, we were able to fund the four-year construction loan within 30 days of executing the term sheet.”

The financing opportunity, which went to market in late February, had interest from banks, debt funds and foreign sources of capital, according to Malcolm Davies, principal and managing director of George Smith Partners who arranged the financing along with George Smith Partners’ senior vice president Zachary Streit.