TRENTON-Matrix East Front Street Urban Renewal Associates, an affiliate of the Cranbury-based Matrix Development Group, obtained a $5.3-million loan from the New Jersey EDA through its New Jersey Community Development Entity. The loan is part of the permanent financing obtained by Matrix to buy and redevelop the 66,500-sf office building at 32 East Front St. (formerly known as Liberty Commons) Downtown.
"The EDA's commitment to stimulate economic development in Downtown Trenton attracted my partners and me to pursue this investment opportunity," says Matrix EVP/CFO Donald M. Epstein. The funds from the loan, 10 years at a fixed rate of 3% with interest-only payments due for the first seven years, will be used to replace existing public funding commitments made to the project's original developer, he says.
As reported by GlobeSt.com, Matrix bought the building in October 2005 from the Trenton EDC, which had taken it over from the original developer. Matrix subsequently got a commitment from Wachovia to take 43,500 sf on the top three floors of the five-story building--the financial institution will move its regional office to the building from its current suburban location. The building also has 10,000 sf of ground-floor retail.
The loan was the first financing to close resulting from a $125-million allocation to the NJ EDA under the federal New Markets Tax Credits program, according to Caren Franzini, CEO of the authority. "This tax credit program generates a significant amount of capital that is being made available to businesses and community development projects in distressed areas of New Jersey," she says.
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