Meridian, Beech St. Arrange $90M Finance

ORANGE COUNTY, CA-GlobeSt.com has learned exclusively that a joint venture between Meridian Capital Group LLC and Beech Street Capital LLC has arranged on behalf of a local owner/operator the $90.4-million refinancing of five separate multifamily properties located throughout Orange County. The properties are located in La Habra, Fullerton, Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Buena Park.

Four of the five properties were built by the owner in the 1970s. All have been well-maintained as evidenced by the consistent 95%+ occupancy for each asset, according to Meridian. GlobeSt.com was unable to reach Meridian prior to deadline to discuss the names of the properties and where each is located.

The transactions were each forward rate locked more than 90 days prior to closing with a life insurance company lender and feature fully amortizing loans with fixed rates in the mid-4% range. The motivation for paying off the existing loans early and incurring a prepayment penalty was driven by the benefit of locking in lower, long-term interest rates.

Seth Grossman, Meridian's managing director; and Greg Reed and Kristen Croxton, Beech Street's EVPs, negotiated the transaction. “Beech Street and Meridian worked seamlessly together to provide the client with the best debt options available to meet their needs,” says Grossman. “This transaction is another demonstration of Beech Street's commitment to come through for the customer.”

According to Meridian, a critical component to completing these transactions was finding a lender that offered a no-cost, forward rate lock at application in order to hedge against rising interest rates. The Beech Street team approached Grossman to ensure their client was provided with access to the broadest array of lenders and financing options that featured this flexibility.

As GlobeSt.com reported in October, Capital Group negotiated a $5.5-million mortgage for the refinancing of the Manayunk Self Storage property here. The 10-year loan has a fixed interest rate of 5.27%. Barry Lefkowitz and Jay Jacobovitch of Meridan's Iselin, NJ, office handled the transaction.