Wednesday, September 9, 2015

'Highly structured' construction loan arranged for Divine Lorraine



The developer seeking to transform the Divine Lorraine in Philadelphia has closed on a $35 million construction loan.


While much of the funding for the redevelopment had been in the works and committed by various sources, this marks another milestone in the pending redevelopment of the storied North Broad Street landmark.

A rendering of how some of the retail space would look at a redeveloped Divine Lorraine.
Washington Square Realty Capital arranged the funds for Eric Blumenfeld’s EB Realty Management, which is redeveloping the property. The construction money was provided by Procida Advisors’ 100 Mile Fund, which provides bridge, mezzanine and construction loans and equity to real estate projects.

Procida is based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and has provided other funding to EB Realty Management, including a $16.2 million first-mortgage on the Mural Arts Lofts in Philadelphia.
Washington Square Realty, which is based in Center City, has also been involved with Blumenfeld before, helping to arrange more than $100 million for the developer, including $28 million to recapitalize his Marine Club condo project on South Broad Street last year.
Chris Datz, principal with Washington Square Realty, said he couldn’t disclose any terms of the loan other than to say it was “highly structured” and “one of the most creative financing solutions I have ever seen.”

Funding had been two years in the making and consists of not only loans from Procida’s outfit but also $3.5 million in state money as $8 million in tax grants.


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