Dream Unlimited Corp., PaulsCorp, and Vicky Schiff have launched Avrio Real Estate Credit for short-term, first mortgage debt and other structured finance products for the acquisition, refinancing and recapitalization of commercial real estate.
“Avrio will provide financing across all asset classes, but we will be heavily weighted on multifamily, particularly sustainable development that helps to address the need for quality housing that is attainable to the majority of renters in primary and secondary urban markets throughout the U.S.,” says Schiff, CEO of the newly established Avrio.
Marking Dream’s entry into the U.S. credit market, the company is a leading Canadian real estate firm with 600 employees and 12 offices across North America and Europe. The new partnership will use a specialized process, developed with Dream’s sustainability and ESG team, to collect, analyze and report on ESG data in a streamlined manner. The process will help external partners and borrowers improve their assets’ ESG scores, attributes, and their overall impacts on their communities and the environment.
“Given the current supply gap of available debt to meet the needs of real estate operators and developers in the U.S., Avrio will play a critical role in bringing flexible and creative debt funding to developers searching for this type of instrument,” says Dream co-founder and chief responsible officer Michael Cooper. “Dream places a strong emphasis on sustainability across all of our strategies, and Avrio fits well within our goals of building better communities in our markets.”
Loans will range from $25 million to $150 million. “We believe with the current real estate capital markets experiencing some dislocation, now is an opportune time. In addition to financing new development and value-add projects that utilize energy-efficient and green construction materials, methods, or systems, we want to work with borrowers who create jobs, encourage education and employee engagement, and who are dedicated to building projects that help expand the inventory of workforce, affordable, and transitional housing,” adds Schiff.
Avrio will also utilize PaulsCorp’s expertise in development, asset management, construction management, and underwriting across multiple markets and asset classes. PaulsCorp has developed or managed over $6.5 billion in real estate assets, including approximately 15,000 single-family homes, multi-residential units, townhomes, and condominiums. The company has over $2 billion in assets under management and $825 million under development.
Avrio has hired Kyle Geohegan as U.S. head of originations. He joins with 30 years of experience in real estate capital markets and was most recently managing director for Trez Capital, where he helped develop a national lending platform resulting in the production of $800 million in its first year.
Avrio will be headquartered in Denver, with offices in New York, Toronto, and Los Angeles.