New Role to Bring Predictable CRE Cash Flows to Institutional Investors

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, announced that Clive Lipshitz has been appointed a Managing Director in the firm’s Corporate Finance Group. In this new role, Mr. Lipshitz will oversee institutional investor outreach and develop a new Investment Management initiative at the firm as it continues its growth and expansion.

Mr. Lipshitz will engage with prospective investors to bring them access to Greystone’s loan and capital market products. In his role, he will also oversee market intelligence and product strategy and development for this effort.

Prior to joining Greystone, Mr. Lipshitz was responsible for strategy and product development at Credit Suisse Alternative Investments and at Brookfield, building 30+ new investment businesses. At Tradewind Interstate Advisors, he advised leading infrastructure, real estate, and private market investment firms. As a guest scholar at NYU Stern, Mr. Lipshitz co-authored a book on infrastructure finance as well as several studies of pension funds published in finance journals and cited in major business media.

“Greystone has a remarkable multi-decade track record of originating, underwriting, and servicing what has become a very substantial portfolio of commercial real estate loans. This portfolio produces highly predictable long duration cash flows with a history of extremely low defaults. We see opportunity in the institutional market as this is the ideal type of investment for investors with liability-driven investment mandates,” said Mr. Lipshitz.

Mr. Lipshitz is based in New York and reports to Jeffrey Baevsky, Executive Managing Director in Corporate Finance at Greystone.

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a $900,000 Fannie Mae loan to refinance a multifamily property in Washington, DC, through the Equity in Action initiative launched by The Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND), the Washington Region’s premier member association advocating for affordable housing production and preservation. The financing was originated by Alicia Cotton-Doney, Senior Managing Director at Greystone, on behalf of The Ayesha M. Johnson Revocable Trust.

Greystone and HAND launched Equity in Action in 2021 to increase access to working capital for BIPOC real estate developers who face challenges to capital access, asset-based wealth generation, and economic mobility. HAND members gain direct access to advisory and financing solutions for affordable housing construction, refinancing, recapitalization and acquisition, including access to Greystone’s #1 ranked FHA lending platform.

Built in 1974 and acquired in 2005, 4905 Nash in the District of Columbia’s Deanwood neighborhood, is a mid-rise building consisting of 12 units. The non-recourse, fixed-rate $900,000 Fannie Mae loan carries a 10-year term and 30-year amortization period, as well as three years of interest-only payments and a 54% loan-to-value (LTV). In addition to refinancing, loan proceeds enable the borrower to continue to operate the property and monetize a portion of their equity.

“For decades, advocates have pointed to patterns of discrimination in the lending sector that have perpetuated barriers for BIPOC developers to access the capital they need to execute on their plans for creating affordable housing,” said Heather Raspberry, Executive Director, HAND. “Equity in Action is disrupting this system while ensuring BIPOC developers and their future residents are provided real opportunities to thrive.”

“We are thrilled to leverage our extensive multifamily lending platform and expertise to secure the right financing for our client,” said Ms. Cotton-Doney. “Greystone is deeply committed to making quality housing accessible to all communities. It’s our hope that other BIPOC commercial borrowers will draw on the resources available through the Equity in Action program to help address the housing crisis in Washington, DC.”

“Thanks to Heather Raspberry and the impactful work of HAND, I began a journey with Greystone as my lending partner. Closing on this transaction is the culmination of a collaborative effort and focused intentions,” said Ms. Ayesha Johnson, principal of the borrower. “Alicia and the rest of the Greystone team were both supportive of and responsive to my specific needs and as a result, the current and future residents at this property will benefit for years to come. HAND and Greystone together have given us access to the knowledge and capital that enables us to maintain livable spaces as well as improve and beautify our community, one building at a time."

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a total of $47 million in HUD-insured loans for five skilled nursing facilities located in California, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Ohio. The separate financings, provided to five different borrowers, was originated by Fred Levine, Managing Director at Greystone. 

Greystone provided an $8,264,000 loan for a 35-bed facility in San Diego, California; a $10,584,000 loan for a 103-bed facility in Dayville, Connecticut; an $8,144,000 loan for a 100-bed facility in Norwalk, Ohio; a $5.75 million loan for a 64-bed facility in Fremont, Ohio; and a $15,120,000 loan for a 111-bed facility in Durham, North Carolina. The properties will all benefit from a long non-recourse loan term of either 30 or 35 year and a low rate.

“Today’s rising interest rate environment reinforces the extraordinary value associated with HUD’s fixed-rate, long-term financing programs,” said Mr. Levine. “We are driven to do our share in helping nursing care providers with permanent financing that frees them to focus on the spectacular care they provide to seniors across the country.”

Portfolio of Seven Properties Spanning Five States and Totaling 1,486 Units

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a total of $161,427,700 in HUD-insured financing for a portfolio of seven properties across the United States. The seven separate transactions were originated by Eric Rosenstock, Managing Director and Jesse Yodice, Vice President at Greystone, on behalf of Howie Rich of Rich Properties over the last several months. 

The portfolio of seven multifamily properties spans five different states and comprise a total of 1,486 units. Greystone provided the HUD-insured financings over the past several months with transactions ranging from $13.2 million to $36 million. The properties include:

-        The Heights at Towne Lake in Woodstock, GA

-        Rosemeade Apartments in Southbridge, MA

-        Waterford Downs Apartments in St. Louis, MO

-        Ashborough Apartments in Raleigh, NC

-        Parkside Village in Clayton, NC

-        Ashbrook Apartments in Carrboro, NC

-        Oakhampton Place Apartments in San Antonio, TX

“Refinancing this portfolio has been a labor of love for me and my team, including navigating the various market challenges,” said Eric Rosenstock. “The only constant in the last year has been change, with interest rates and costs rising, but Mr. Howie Rich stayed the course and put complete confidence in Greystone to deliver the best possible execution. It’s highly gratifying for my team to complete the last of the refinancing transactions in this portfolio and I’m proud to add these assets to my servicing book.”

Greystone Monticello announces Eric T. Baum has joined as Head of the Multifamily Bridge Sales Desk, working closely with the firms’ originators, including sizing, quoting, and issuing bridge loan applications. Formed in 2021, the Greystone Monticello joint venture provides a wide range of bridge financing options in the multifamily and seniors housing industries.

Mr. Baum brings more than 25 years of experience in commercial real estate lending, management and credit analysis to Greystone Monticello. Throughout the course of his career, he has originated, structured, underwritten and closed over $23.2 billion of commercial real estate debt products on all property types across the United States. Most recently, Mr. Baum was a Managing Director at Lument, where he originated new bridge loan opportunities for multifamily assets, including nearly stabilized and transitional properties. He has served as a Managing Director at Exantas Real Estate Funding, focusing on loan underwriting, credit analysis and closings, and has also held senior positions with CW Financial Services, Ventras and Capmark Financial Group/GMAC Commercial Mortgage.

Mr. Baum will be based out of Philadelphia, reporting to Mark R. Jarrell, Executive Vice President, Portfolio Lending at Greystone Monticello.

“Eric has incredibly deep expertise and long-standing industry relationships in commercial real estate finance, particularly in the multifamily space,” said Mr. Jarrell. “We are excited about the impact that he will have on the Greystone Monticello joint venture and look forward to his leadership in furthering our ability to serve our clients well, with solutions that make sense for their unique situations.”

Tax-Exempt and Taxable Bonds Finance Significant Portion of Construction Costs for 200-Unit Building

Greystone affiliate, America First Multifamily Investors, L.P. (NASDAQ: ATAX) (“ATAX”), today announced that it has purchased $72 million in tax-exempt and taxable mortgage revenue bonds for the acquisition of land and construction of a 200-unit seniors affordable housing property in Los Angeles. Frank Bravo, Managing Director at ATAX, originated the transaction.

Located at 1657 N. Western Avenue, Residency at the Entrepreneur will include a business center, clubhouse, fitness center, laundry facility, and gated/controlled access on the approximate half acre site. Amenities will also include a computer room, and offices for residents’ use. The units will be restricted to senior residents earning a range of 30% to 80% Area Median Income (AMI). Ninety-nine of the units will be master leased by The People Concern, whose constituents are seniors, individuals at risk of homelessness, and low-income families.

At stabilization, and no later than 36 months from initial closing, the tax-exempt bonds for the project will be partially redeemed, and ATAX will provide up to $45 million in permanent financing in the form a 15-year term, 40-year amortized facility.

As a completed asset, the multifamily community will be owned by Residency at the Entrepreneur, LP, a California limited partnership. The borrower’s administrative general partner is ABS Entrepreneur, LLC, a wholly owned affiliate of ABS Properties, Inc., and the borrower’s managing general partner is Kingdom Entrepreneur, LLC, a wholly owned affiliate of Kingdom Development, Inc., a California nonprofit corporation. The limited partner, and tax credit investor, is Columbia Pacific Advisors.

“We are honored to have the tools and resources at our disposal, and the strength in partnerships, to create this desperately-needed housing in Los Angeles,” said Bravo.

Ken Rogozinski, CEO of ATAX added, “This project would not be possible without critical tax-exempt bond financing, which enables affordable housing developers to make their efforts possible and create housing to address today’s affordable crisis. We thank our collaborators in this public-private partnership on this project for their commitment to success for the residents of Los Angeles.”

Greystone, the #1 provider of HUD-insured commercial loans by volume, is also a top provider of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac affordable housing loans. In 2019, a Greystone affiliate acquired the parent of the general partner of America First Multifamily Investors, L.P., which manages over $1 billion in assets consisting primarily of mortgage revenue bonds intended for multifamily affordable housing construction and permanent financing.