Tricera Capital Secured $50M to Build Mixed-Use in West Palm Beach

Tricera Capital has secured a $50.75 million construction loan to redevelop The Press in West Palm Beach. Monroe Capital closed the loan through its Opportunistic Private Credit group, which focuses on complex and special situation structured debt and equity.

The adaptive-reuse project is located on 11 acres at 2751 S. Dixie Hwy. on the Palm Beach Post campus. The existing structures are being preserved, and the project will also include a 125,000 square feet of retail called Shops at the Press, and 140,000 square feet of office space branded, called Workspaces at the Press. Scott Sherman, Principal at Tricera Capital, said that the tenant mix is starting to come together with retailers that will complement the property.

The pandemic has created a flood of demand in the opportunistic and special situation capital space. Mesa West Capital launched a special situations lending platform to provide rescue capital, mezzanine and preferred equity up to $100 million. Although newly launched, the firm completed its first deal through the program, funding $47 million in two deals located in Chicago and San Diego. In the Chicago deal, LaSalle Investment Management secured a $37 million mezzanine loan to refinance and stabilize a 30-story, 549,000-square foot class-A office building in Chicago’s West Loop. La Salle acquired the property in 2017 and has completed a multimillion renovation and increased the occupancy to 69%.

Monroe’s special situation platform provides debt and equity financings across all asset types and geographies. It maintains a broad investment platform and flexibility to provide capital for several different transaction types, although it is focused on deals with attractive collateral and enterprise value on the loans. The platform has helped to keep the company active through the pandemic. Monroe grew its business last year, closing seven real estate transactions in the last 12 months.