Commercial loans are hot. Proof: This firm closed deals worth $90M in 90 days
Investors from the Northeast and Latin America continue plugging their money into the Miami market as one private, Brickell-based real estate lending firm can attest.
BGI Capital closed on $90 million in commercial bridge loans in the last 90 days of 2019, the firm said. Some 90% of the closings — valued at $80 million — occurred in Miami, with the rest in New York City, said co-managing partner Robert Barthelmess. Investors from the Northeast, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela helped the firm exceed its lending goal of $80 million, he said.
“It is a market that we feel comfortable about. Because of the situation in Latin America and tax changes, investors are coming to Miami from elsewhere,” Barthelmess said.
Deals in Edgewater and Coral Gables topped the list for the firm’s biggest investments. Among its deals were a $27.5 million construction loan for a Holiday Inn at 414 NE 36th St. and a $12 million refinance and re-purpose loan at 299 Alhambra Circle, a Class C office building.
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BGI Capital has yet to determine a lending goal for the first quarter of 2020. But, Barthelmess said, the firm will prioritize investing in high-density areas in Miami-Dade County, Broward and West Palm Beach. Coral Gables, Wynwood, Edgewater and Hialeah are of particular interest, he said.
“We like high density areas because population can cure a lot of ills,” Barthelmess said. “It drives demand.”
This story was originally published January 17, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
