Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC recently secured a $1.5 billion refinancing deal, the largest in the company’s history.
The loan portfolio, for Southern Management Corporation, includes 69 multifamily assets with loans ranging between $2.5 million and $135 million, and will be financed through Freddie Mac on a 10-year loan term, officials said.
John Reed, Berkadia’s senior vice president at the Richmond office, spearheaded the project. Reed said discussions to consolidate the debt on the properties had been in the works for about two years.
“We initially met with Freddie Mac and Southern Management in the first quarter of last year to discuss the idea of really getting serious on this refinance,” says Reed. “We did some preliminary underwriting but it wasn’t until September that we got a term sheet from Freddie Mac. It was closed by the end of December.”
The properties are a mix of Class A and Class B communities throughout Virginia and Maryland combining more than 23,000 apartment units and 250,000 square feet of office and retail spaces.
In preparation for the refinance, teams were sent out to inspect, appraise and survey each property. A lot of legwork was done prior to closing the deal including involving six legal teams, Reed said.
Southern Management Corporation is the largest privately-owned residential property management company in the Mid-Atlantic region, owning and managing 74 multifamily communities throughout the Baltimore and Washington area.
