Case Study: Inside An $80 Million Recapitalization of a Multifamily In Port Orange, FL

Eyzenberg & Company, a real estate investment bank with offices in Miami, New York and Washington DC, recently arranged a unitranche preferred equity and senior debt package to effectuate the pay off of a general partner buy a foreign limited partner on a mid-lease up multifamily property in Port Orange, FL. PROFILEmiami had the exclusive opportunity explore the process with David Eyzenberg, the founder of Eyzenberg & Co. and one of the industry leaders in ground leases.

Challenges

The general partner was seeking to exit a completed development mid-lease up while the limited partner desired to complete the stabilization of the property and hold until a less volatile capital markets environment. Since the limited partner has no domestic assets, they were not able to directly provide the balance sheet requirements necessary to secure a new senior loan with the GP. Furthermore, a rising interest environment coupled with escalating operating costs was making it harder to qualify for the requisite financial metrics. The closing was very time sensitive as the expiring interest reserve on the original construction loan would have triggered carry guarantees for the general partner.

Solutions

Eyzenberg & Company presented the opportunity to a very limited pool of preferred equity providers who had the structural capability of also providing balance sheet guarantees necessary to qualify for a senior loan. After a broader placement process for bridge financing a revised strategy entailed levering down the senior loan, allowing for a bank execution and getting a second tranche of preferred equity at a fixed cost so that the blended WACC was equivalent to a CLO execution without having to deal with potential structural pitfalls of securitized documentation. All due diligence and closing requirements were coordinated directly since the limited partner was in a different time zone overseas. Analytical, structuring and negotiation support was provided for a partnership buyout, a revised operating agreement and loan documentation.

About Eyzenberg & Co.

Eyzenberg & Company is a commercial real estate investment bank led by David Eyzenberg. Eyzenberg & Co. is one of the industry's leading ground lease and capital advisory firm delivering full capital stack solutions for existing, transitional, and to-be-built commercial real estate projects. Affiliated entities Eyzenberg GroundCap (an institutionally backed private equity vehicle specializing in the creation and acquisition of leased fee positions) and Eyzenberg GreenCap (a joint venture with leading C-PACE firm, Greenworks Lending) provide innovative proprietary capital solutions for CRE transactions. With offices in New York, Miami, Washington D.C. Metro, and Philadelphia, Eyzenberg & Company is one of the fastest-growing real estate capital advisory firms in the U.S.

Case Study: Inside A $95 Million, 10-Acre Ground Lease For A 400-Unit Multifamily Development By Eyzenberg & Co.

Eyzenberg & Company, a real estate investment bank with offices in Miami, New York and Washington DC, recently structured a ground lease and appointed a developer for a $95 million, 10-arce, 500,000+ square foot 400-unit multifamily property, located in Bonita Springs Florida. PROFILEmiami had the exclusive opportunity explore the process with David Eyzenberg, the founder of Eyzenberg & Co. and one of the industry leaders in ground leases.

Challenges

The landowner was master planning a 68-acre mixed-used site and was seeking an alternative structure to monetize the various components of the development. Though the optionality of converting land into a fixed income asset via a ground lease was appealing, the suburban location on the west coast of Florida was perceived to be a deterrent to the structure.

Solutions

Eyzenberg & Company conducted a broad marketing process focused on experienced multifamily developers. To better access a broader market, other intermediaries were invited to present the opportunity to their client base. A ground lease was structured such that potential future economic ambiguity was minimized thus creating an attractive development opportunity for would be builders. Potential bidders and their capital partners were educated on the ground lease structure and its inherent benefits. Ultimately a leasehold developer was selected and all of the lessors desired business terms were achieved.

About Eyzenberg & Co.

Eyzenberg & Company is a commercial real estate investment bank led by David Eyzenberg. Eyzenberg & Co. is one of the industry's leading ground lease and capital advisory firm delivering full capital stack solutions for existing, transitional, and to-be-built commercial real estate projects. Affiliated entities Eyzenberg GroundCap (an institutionally backed private equity vehicle specializing in the creation and acquisition of leased fee positions) and Eyzenberg GreenCap (a joint venture with leading C-PACE firm, Greenworks Lending) provide innovative proprietary capital solutions for CRE transactions. With offices in New York, Miami, Washington D.C. Metro, and Philadelphia, Eyzenberg & Company is one of the fastest-growing real estate capital advisory firms in the U.S.

Eyzenberg & Co. Structures $73.35 Million Construction Loan For Downtown St. Petersburg Condo Development

Eyzenberg & Company has arranged a stretch-senior construction loan to finance the development of Reflections Condominiums, a 17-story condominium tower on Mirror Lake in St. Petersburg, Florida. The New York-headquartered commercial real estate investment banking firm was retained in 2021 as the exclusive financial advisor for the development of the 326,468 square foot building.

Situated at the Edge District of St Petersburg, Reflections is surrounded by new restaurants, boutique shopping, as well as award winning galleries and museums. With nationwide interest of homebuyers flowing into the greater Tampa and St. Petersburg markets of Florida, the developer was well positioned to deliver a product in extremely high demand. In the months leading up to loan closing the developer pre-sold over 55% of the building’s available units.

“Our firm and team members have a long history of representing developers in the South Florida community, one of the many reasons we established a local office in Miami in 2019” Said David Eyzenberg, President of Eyzenberg & Company.

The tower features open floor plan options ranging from 1,168 to nearly 2,285 square feet of interior living space. Reflections’ residents are provided private access to the tower’s 12,000 square foot rooftop featuring a glass façade, air-conditioned fitness center and social club, a tropical pool and spa terrace, outdoor kitchen and wet bar, and unparalleled panoramic views of Mirror Lake, Downtown St. Petersburg, and Tampa Bay.

The Eyzenberg deal team included Robert Ginsberg, Aaron Stelzer, Alex Anderson and Elena Burgos. After exploring the equity and structured capital markets to fill the existing gap in the capital stack, Eyzenberg arranged a construction loan from a debt fund that provided stretch-senior construction financing that allowed both existing sales deposits as well as future sales deposits to be treated as a source of capital that filled the entire capital stack. “This particular transaction underscores the need for sophisticated structuring capabilities vs introduction services in complicated scenarios” said Robert Ginsberg, managing director of Eyzenberg & Company

With economic headwinds facing the construction industry from inflation, the lingering effects of Covid-19, and geo-political pressures in Europe, Eyzenberg was able to work with both the lender and borrower to bridge cost overruns and a steepening yield curve and shepherd the transaction to a successful close.

The project is anticipated to reach completion and deliver the final units in April of 2024.

Eyzenberg & Co. Secures $21.3 Million Loan For Weiss Group of Companies Kobi Karp-Designed Towers at Blue Lagoon

Weiss Group of Companies has secured $21.3 million in bridge financing for the Kobi Karp-designed Towers at Blue Lagoon, which will replace a previous loan and fund predevelopment costs. Weiss Group has owned the 7-acre site located near Miami International Airport since the 1970s. In March 2019, their proposed rezoning to Miami city commissioners that would raise the development site’s maximum building height from eight stories to 12 stories was approved. Phase one of the mixed-use project will include a total of 829 multi-family units in two 184,000-square-foot buildings. Unit floor plans will include studio, one-, two-, and three- bedrooms. Future plans for the development include two 147-room hotels, parking spaces, affordable, market-rate and workforce housing, and improved roads and pedestrian walkways.

Weiss Group secured the loan from a Canadian private lender, according to the president of Eyzenberg & Co. Eyzenberg and Robert Ginsberg, managing director of Eyzenberg & Co., assisted in arranging the loan on behalf of Weiss Group.

By Isabella Zimmermann

Commercial Real Estate Investment Bank Eyzenberg & Company Opens First Miami Office

The New York City-headquartered commercial real estate investment bank Eyzenberg & Company has expanded into Florida, opening a new office in Miami. It is the third location for Eyzenberg & Company, led by NYC dealmaker David Eyzenberg, as the firm continues to grow its capital solutions platform. Eyzenberg & Company recently closed a $21.3 million bridge financing deal on behalf of the Weiss Group of Companies to build a mixed-use multifamily and hotel project at the Blue Lagoon office complex near Miami International Airport.

“Florida is already a prominent market for us, with many existing clients operating in the state. Formalizing our presence here allows us to deepen our commitment to delivering our full platform of capital solutions to our current clients and to grow new relationships from our on-the-ground operation,” said David Eyzenberg, president of Eyzenberg & Company. “I have been doing business in Florida for 20 years, commuting back and forth for the past seven. The Southeast is a hotbed of development and investment activity and the new office will help us be more efficient as we continue to develop our presence here, while leveraging our established capital relationships in New York and Washington.”

Joining Eyzenberg as a director is Ronald Granite, who will be originating structuring and placing debt, equity and ground lease capital for commercial real estate transactions across the U.S. as well as supervising transaction execution. In a relocation from Chicago, Granite brings 14+ years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, working in capital markets, portfolio management, asset management, leasing and finance.

Since its founding in 2016, Eyzenberg & Company has become one of the fastest-growing real estate capital advisory firms in the U.S. Affiliated entities include Eyzenberg Ground Lease Capital, an institutionally backed private equity vehicle specializing in the creation and acquisition of leased fee positions, and Eyzenberg Green Capital, a joint venture with leading C-PACE firm, Greenworks Lending, providing proprietary capital solutions for commercial real estate transactions.

Eyzenberg also serves as an Adjunct Professor of commercial real estate finance at NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, who has also been hired by the University of Miami to teach commercial real estate finance in its business program.