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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Watermark Lands $83 Million Bridge Loan

Watermark has hit its mark with bridge financing.Real estate development firms Gelt Inc. and Uhon have turned to New York-based Square Mile Capital to secure an $83 million bridge loan on behalf of its joint venture The Watermark Apartments, a 250-unit multifamily property set to open this year in Reseda.The Davies Group at Los Angeles-based George Smith Partners brokered the loan.A Gelt representative told the Business Journal that the long-in-development Watermark, located at 6625 Reseda Blvd., is due to open within two months.Designed by Los Angeles-based Albert Group Architects, the six-floor mixed-use complex, which features workforce apartments above nearly 6,600 square feet of ground-floor retail on a 2.4-acre parcel, has been in the works for a couple years now and has garnered the support of city officials such as L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield as a Reseda revitalizer. The development, which includes five stories of townhomes in a rear building, will offer a combination of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes ranging in size from 419 to 1,386 square feet.The owners of the ambitious apartment complex are going to be loosely targeting as tenants the employees of such area entities as Providence Cedars Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, affiliated health care employers and the restaurant and retail sectors.

“Despite the strong market dynamics, our team knew that a well-funded capital source versed in supplying flexible debt solutions was required in a year the likes of 2020,” said Malcom Davies, principal and managing director at George Smith Partners, said in a statement. “Our ability to secure such a large loan during a pandemic is a testament to the quality of Watermark and the credentials of its sponsors.” Davies, along with other Davies Group members Senior Vice President Zachary Streit; Vice Presidents Alexander Rossinsky and Drew Sandler; Assistant Vice President Aiden Moran; and Analyst Brandon Asherian sourced the financing on behalf of the Gelt-Uhon joint venture.

Gelt, which has long been based in Tarzana at 18751 Ventura Blvd., has acquired a total of 10,785 apartment units since its start in 2008, and currently owns a portfolio of 7,404 units as well as approximately 200,000 square feet of commercial space.

Frequent partner Uhon – a private capital real estate investment and development group with offices in Pasadena and Toronto, Canada – is an arm of Shenzhen Yuhong Investment Group Co. in China. Since its 2015 inception, Uhon has participated in real estate transactions valuing more than $1 billion across 3,000 units and 2.5 million square feet.

Michael Aushenker
Michael Aushenker
A graduate of Cornell University, Michael covers commercial real estate for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Prior to the Business Journal, Michael covered the community and entertainment beats as a staff writer for various newspapers, including the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, The Palisadian-Post, The Argonaut and Acorn Newspapers. He has also freelanced for the Santa Barbara Independent, VC Reporter, Malibu Times and Los Feliz Ledger.

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