Aurora, CO – Essex Financial Group arranged a $13.0M loan for the acquisition of Summer Valley Shopping Center, a 95,669 SF retail center located in the southeast Denver metro area. Essex worked on behalf of the buyer to source the 10-year, fixed rate loan for the acquisition.Summer Valley Shopping Center is currently 99% leased to a diverse group of 18 retailers. The Center is anchored by VASA Fitness, a leading operator of health clubs in the Western U.S. Dollar Tree is the junior anchor. The Property sits on an 8.7-acre site at the highly trafficked intersection of East Quincy Avenue and South Buckley Road. More than 62,000 vehicles travel this intersection daily...

The first phase at Quantum 56, a Class A, six-building, 868,360-square-foot industrial park situated west of I-25 on 56th Ave, developed by Hines, has broken ground. Phase I, featuring three buildings totaling 581,250 square feet of warehouse/manufacturing space, is set to be completed in Q2 2024.Quantum 56 is designed by Ware Malcomb and is being constructed by Arch-Con Corporation.Essex Financial Group secured the construction loan for Phase I. The loan was provided by one of Essex’s correspondent life insurance company relationships.Jason White, Mitchell Zatz, and Carmon Hicks of JLL will lead the leasing efforts on behalf of Hines. Essex’...

We have reached the halfway point for 2023, and what a year it’s been … so far.The first six months of the year brought hasty interest rate hikes, confused capital markets, volatility industrywide, new lender underwriting parameters, and a lot of unanswered questions about the future. Yet, despite all these factors, lenders who were in the market and active (primarily life companies and agencies) found a way to get capital out the door efficiently, to get a head start on their annual allocations. We were seeing sales transactions move forward (albeit at lower levels compared to 2022) and had proactive borrowers getting ahead of pending maturities 12 to 24 months out, not knowi...

The insurance companies are currently providing the best, most attractive liquidity for industrial real estate assets in today’s uncertain economic times. Period. Here’s why:Steady source of liquidity. Insurance companies reinvest monthly premiums from policy holders into several fixed- income assets. The investment target allocations for these policy premiums have historically been ~40% stocks, ~40% bonds, ~15% commercial real estate (mainly focused on direct commercial mortgage loans) and ~5% alternatives. Despite the lost liquidity within the commercial banks – due to a shrinking deposit base, lack of loan payoffs, and increased regulation – monthly premiums paid by insuran...

As seen in the Colorado Real Estate Journal May 3, 2023.The debt markets continue to get more challenging to navigate. Interest rate hikes and macroeconomic factors affect each lending source differently, resulting in an inefficient and confusing debt marketplace. This impacts the entirety of the industry, as debt is associated with almost every single commercial real estate property. The majority of commercial real estate professionals have other things to do during the week than keep tabs on the lending appetite and underwriting metrics for hundreds of lenders. Then there’s us. The lucky ones. Mortgage bankers.Here’s one mortgage banker’s perspective on what’s going on in th...

Lakewood, CO – Essex Financial Group secured $17.0M of bridge financing for the acquisition of 143 Union, a 191,564 SF, 10-story office property centrally located in the Union Boulevard Corridor in Lakewood, CO. Essex worked on behalf of the buyer, Legacy Real Estate Investments, to source the five-year, fixed rate loan that was provided by an insurance company Essex has a long-standing relationship with. 143 Union, a class A landmark 10-story building occupied was just over 70% occupied to a wide range of tenants that benefit from convenient light rail and vehicular access, walkable retail and restaurants, and upgraded common areas. The property is located in the su...

Denver, CO – Essex Financial Group (“Essex”) arranged $32.0M in acquisition financing for the purchase of 2nd & Josephine, a four-building, 105,253 SF mixed-use property in the heart of Cherry Creek North. Essex worked on behalf of the buyer, Altus Properties, to source the seven-year, fixed rate loan with a prominent life insurance company. 2nd & Josephine is situated on a ½ city block in Denver’s strongest office market, surrounded by top restaurants, hotels, retailers, abundant new construction and more. The Property is currently 100% leased and anchored by Bank of America and boasts an average historical occupancy of 93% since the last building was built...

The capital markets have experienced a rapid transformation over the course of 2022, bringing attention to new themes and trends that continue to unfold. Rising rates, economic uncertainty and record-setting inflation continue to impact the marketplace, including lender appetite. While we don’t want to present a pessimistic outlook, as there is still plenty of demand for mortgages, it is important to be transparent and note the shifts that are taking place. Here are some of the themes and trends we have noticed in this quickly changing environment.What does the lending landscape look like right now? Life companies, banks, conduit lenders and debt funds are asking themselves th...

Longmont, CO – Essex Financial Group (“Essex”) arranged $13.8M in acquisition financing for the purchase of Front Range Business Park, a two-building, 117,106 SF industrial/flex complex located in Boulder County. Essex worked on behalf of the buyer, Ivy Realty, to source the seven-year, fixed rate loan for the acquisition with a regional bank. Front Range Business Park is 100% leased to the State of Colorado’s Front Range Community College (“FRCC”), the largest community college in Colorado, on a long-term lease. Built in 1988, the property was originally designed for small bay industrial/flex use and includes 9 dock-high loading doors between the two buildings. It...

In reading the Quarterly Mortgage Banking Association’s (MBA) Q1 2022 loan originations report, readers would expect a thriving economy in 2022 and predict another year of record low interest rates, especially for owners of industrial real estate.  Some of the headline stats:·     Commercial and multifamily loans up 72% compared to first quarter 2021·     Loans on industrial assets increased by 145% compared to first quarter 2021 (highest increase per product type)However, the global economy and lending universe have quickly changed, and a large portion of the positive origination gains in Q1 2022 is from loans sourced in Q4 2021.  We have officially entered the long-a...