Island Entrepreneur - Andrew Farkas

Last week, Centerline Capital Group provided a $11.625MM DUS Student Housing facility to Realco Capital Partners.  The financing will be used to acquire a student housing property called University Suites, which is located in Greenville, North Carolina.  University Suites provides housing for students at East Carolina University and includes 503 beds in 171 units.  The property is garden style and has several amenities, including a 24-hour fitness center, two tanning beds, kitchen, 24-hour computer lab, lounge area with fireplace and TV, pool table, outdoor pool, basketball court and sand volleyball court.  Although the property is one mile from campus, it’s located on the ECU campus bus route.

Realco Capital Partners, based in New York, is a real estate investment and development firm that was founded in 1974.  It has extensive experience in all facets of real estate investments and development and currently owns student housing in Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida.

“University Suites is a well located student housing property that draws from students attending East Carolina University,” noted Vic Clark, Managing Director, Originations at Centerline.  “We were pleased to partner with GRC Capital to provide Realco Capital Partners the funding they needed to complete their fourth student housing deal.  We hope to work with them on future acquisitions as they work to expand their student housing portfolio.”

Earlier this week, Centerline Capital Group, a subsidiary of Centerline Holding Company, refinanced the Arbour Reach Apartments through a $4.2 MM DUS loan.  The loan was also used for the limited partner buyout and was made at 80% loan-to-value, 1.20 debt service coverage on the refinance with a 30-year amortization and 10-year term.  The Borrower, formed in 1997, is a single-asset entity with the sole purpose of owning, constructing, developing, and operating the Arbour Reach Apartments.  The property manager is Ripley Heatwole Company, Inc., which has been a client of Centerline for the past 18 years.

The Arbour Reach Apartments are located in Portsmouth, Virginia near Virginia Beach.  The property contains six buildings housing 92 garden-style apartments.  Each building is two-stories with vinyl and brick siding, wood construction on a slab-on grade foundation, and pitched asphalt roofs.

“Arbour Reach Apartments is a well-maintained multifamily property with a very high average occupancy rate of 98%,” noted, Suzanne Cope, Senior Vice President, Affordable Debt Originations at Centerline Capital Group.  “These factors, combined with deal’s solid real estate fundamentals, and the borrower’s relationship with Centerline made this an attractive deal for Centerline.”

Island Capital Group, where Andrew Farkas serves as CEO, is the largest shareholder of Centerline Holding Company.

Centerline Capital Group recently refinanced and acquired nine individual multifamily properties through affordable MBS loans totaling $23 MM.  The properties are located in Birmingham, Alabama; Kansas City, Missouri; Memphis and Cleveland, Tennessee; Temple, Texas; Cincinnati, Franklin and Dayton, Ohio; and Gastonia, North Carolina.

With a 30-year amortization on a 10-year loan, the assets were financed at rates ranging from 80% loan-to-value with 1.20 debt service coverage to 75% loan-to-value with 1.30 debt service charge coverage.  The borrower is a commercial real estate owner and management company, specializing in Section 8 housing across the country.  With over 13,500 units in 15 states, the borrower is among the country’s largest owners and managers of HUD subsidized housing.

“Centerline was instrumental in providing the financing the borrower needed for the swift acquisition of a number of small Section 8 housing deals,” noted, Suzanne Cope, Affordable Debt Originations at Centerline Capital Group.  “The unique structure we put into place served to accommodate a section 8 overhang to market.  The borrower was pleased to get the financing they needed to quickly close multiple deals in a variety of markets.”

Andrew Farkas is CEO if Island Capital Group, the largest shareholder of Centerline Holding Company, which is the parent company of Centerline Capital Group.

Centerline Capital Group recently announced it refinanced four multifamily properties in New York City through a $45.2 MM Fannie Mae affordable MBS facility.  The four buildings, built between 1920 and 1984, are located in Harlem and house 388 apartments.  The properties are mid-rise buildings and each has Section 8 HAP contracts covering 99% of the apartments.  The loans have similar terms, including 75% loan-to-value, 1.20 debt service coverage, 35-year amortization and 10-year term.  The borrower is located in Manhattan, New York and is a privately held real estate investment, development and management company.

“The principals have a proven track record in affecting positive change in residential neighborhoods,” commented Philip Melton, Senior Managing Director, Affordable Housing Debt Products Originations at Centerline Capital Group.  “Their extensive experience, broad knowledge and expertise in developing, financing and managing real estate in New York, especially in the Harlem market, combined with the deal’s solid real estate fundamentals, made this a highly attractive deal for Centerline.”

Centerline Capital Group provides Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) origination and syndication services, asset management services and affordable and conventional multifamily lending services.  It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centerline Holding Company, in which Island Capital Group is the largest shareholder.

Centerline Capital Group provided $11.4 million to an apartment complex near St. Louis through Fannie Mae DUS Choice refinancing.  The complex is named Woodchase Apartments and is located in Chesterfield, Missouri.  It was built in 1984 and is a garden-style multi-family facility.  The property includes one single-story clubhouse and 17 two- and three-story buildings.  There are 186 units which consist of 48 two-bedroom apartments, 92 one-bedroom apartments, 28 two-bedroom townhomes, and 18 one-bedroom townhomes.  The loan is a 10-year fixed-rate facility with a 30-year amortization period.

“The Chesterfield neighborhood currently has a strong income demographic profile with a stable outlook. As a result, the demand for existing developments in the area is expected to be good,” said Steven Cox, senior vice president of commercial real estate at Centerline Capital Group.  “The borrower is a repeat customer of Centerline with extensive experience in the local commercial real estate market.”

Centerline Capital Group is a subsidiary of Centerline Holding Company.  Island Capital Group, where Andrew Farkas is CEO, is the largest shareholder of Centerline Holding Company.

In early February, NAI hosted the 2012 NAI Global Convention for three days in Las Vegas.  Andrew Farkas, CEO of C-III Capital Partners, was featured as one of the keynote speakers, alongside of Jeffrey Finn, President and CEO of NAI Global.  C-III Capital Partners recently acquired NAI Global to add to its portfolio of real estate service providers.

Andrew Farkas and Jeffrey Finn discussed how C-III and NAI are in a unique position in the real estate industry after the acquisition.  The acquisition brought together NAI Global’s depth of market knowledge, business savvy, customer-centric service and broad reach with C-III Capital Partner’s formidable asset base and resources, vast expertise and proven track record.  NAI is now on its way to becoming the premier company in the industry.

“The convention provided a snapshot of how different offices, including ours, strengthened during this tumultuous economic period,” said Boyd Bradfield Jr., President of NAI Southcoast.  “It also provided the opportunity to build relationships designed to secure new business and deliver superior service to our clients.”

Centerline Capital Group recently provided a $10 MM fixed rate Fannie Mae loan to refinance Brentmoor at Penn Center, a multifamily property in Pittsburgh.  Centerline, headquartered in New York City, provides real estate financial and asset management services.  It’s a subsidiary of Centerline Holding Company.  Island Capital Group, an international merchant banking firm founded by Andrew Farkas, is the largest shareholder of Centerline Holding Company.

Brentmoor at Penn Center was constructed in the 1970’s.  It’s a 12-story building with a swimming pool, gym, library, several parking garages and off-street parking.  In 2008, the property was bought by a private investment group.  These new owners were able to fix the deferred maintenance and stabilize the occupancy.  The refinancing provided by Centerline will go toward repaying the existing debt and funding additional capital improvements.

“The borrower has owned the property for just a few years, but has made great strides in enhancing the facility and greatly improving its cash flow,” said Adam Klingher, Senior Vice President at Centerline.  “These factors, combined with the borrower’s solid track record in the industry, made this an attractive deal for Centerline.”

Last week, C-III Capital Partners closed the acquisition of NAI Global.  NAI Global will continue to operate as a separate company under its current management team.  C-III Capital Partners is led by Andrew Farkas and its principal place of business is in Irving, Texas.  It has additional offices in New York, South Carolina, Virginia, Illinois and Tennessee.  C-III provides real estate equity and debt solutions to a variety of clients and investors.  Its services include loan origination, fund management, primary and special loan servicing, and principal investment.

NAI Global is based in Princeton, New Jersey, but manages a network of 350 offices in 55 countries.  It is one of the largest commercial real estate service provides and the premier network of independent commercial real estate firms.

“The completion of this transaction represents a significant step forward in our strategy to build a fully diversified commercial real estate services company,” said Andrew Farkas. “With the NAI Global acquisition, we are gaining the world’s leading commercial real estate network and a tremendous foundation for future growth.  As we begin a new year, we look forward to partnering with the NAI team to provide enhanced services to the commercial and institutional real estate markets they serve as well as continuing to take advantage of other opportunities to grow and expand our platform.”

Keat Foong, the Executive Editor at Multi-Housing News, provided a profile on Centerline Capital Group and discussed how the company will continue to grow throughout 2012.  For 2012, Centerline is predicting it will double its business volume, particularly in four divisions – (1) asset management, (2) affordable equity (Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) syndication), (3) affordable lending, and (4) conventional multifamily lending.

“In 2012, we will take that platform that we have put in place, support it with investments in people and technology, and allow the business to grow over the next year,” said Robert Levy, president, Centerline COO and CFO.

The high-level hires over the last year will promote much of Centerline’s future growth.  These new hires bring new energy to the company as well as embrace the current corporate culture.  The affordable debt financing department is now led by a group from Grandbridge Real Estate Capital.  An executive from RBC Capital Markets was brought on to further expand Centerline’s affordable equity business.  Lastly, the asset management business has new leadership as well.

Centerline Capital Group is a subsidiary of Centerline Holding Company.  Island Capital Group, led by Andrew Farkas, is the largest shareholder of Centerline Holding Company.  Centerline offers a range of debt and equity financing and investment products to developers, owners and investors.

U.S. Residential Group (USRG) and Pacific West Management (PWM) were recently acquired by C-III Capital Partners.  USRG and PWM manage approximately 24,000 multifamily units located in 12 states.  Their operations will now be combined under the name U.S. Residential Group while keeping the current management team led by Alan Fenstermacher.  It will operate as a subsidiary of C-III Capital Partners, a commercial real estate services company engaged in a broad range of activities.

“Joining forces with C-III and Andrew Farkas is a very exciting opportunity for USRG to accelerate the national expansion strategy we began a year ago,” said Alan Fenstermacher, who will continue as President of USRG. “This transaction will position USRG to continue providing first class property management services to our loyal clients within our current markets and enable us to provide great service wherever our clients choose to invest.  This transaction also presents a tremendous opportunity for our employees to grow within our organization.”

C-III Capital Partners’ principal place of business is in Irving, Texas with additional offices in New York, South Carolina and Tennessee.  U.S. Residential Group is based in Carrollton, Texas and Pacific West Management is based in Irvine, California.