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Essex Property Financial Corporation Closes $14.0 Bridge Loan for Financing of 146-Unit Apartment Property in Vancouver, WA
| Source: Essex Property Trust, Inc.
PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - October 16, 2007) - Essex Property Financial Corporation (EPFC),
a division of Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE : ESS ) and a provider of debt
and equity capital for real estate in the Western United States, announced
today that it recently closed a $14.0 million Bridge Loan for the
completion and lease-up of London Flats, a 146-unit apartment community
located in Vancouver, Washington. The loan was provided to an affiliate of
Construction Design Services, Inc., the Vancouver-based owner/builder of
the project. Scott Johnson of Cohen Financial's San Francisco office
arranged the financing on behalf of the borrowing entity.
The three-phase property will consist of 6 studio units, 36 one-bedroom
units, 72 two-bedroom units and 32 three-bedroom units. The 58-unit first
phase was delivered earlier this year and is fully leased. The second and
third phases, consisting of 44 units each, are scheduled for completion
before year-end and in Spring 2008, respectively. The loan re-financed a
regional bank construction loan, incorporating additional proceeds for
interior upgrades to the remaining phases, exterior and common area
upgrades and interest reserves to take the project through lease-up and
stabilization. London Flats is located near Interstate 205 and State Route
500 and is also situated close to retail shopping.
"We were originally approached with a request for a mezzanine facility and
given the dynamics for the Vancouver market and the favorable loan basis we
were very interested in the deal," stated Michael VanderLey, Senior Vice
President of Structured Finance for the Company. Mr. VanderLey continued,
"However, it quickly became apparent that employing two lenders, each with
future funding obligations that overlapped, would be difficult to document
and problematic to administer. As a result, we determined that the best
execution would be for EPFC to take over the existing loan, structure the
overall pricing and economics to reflect the additional leverage, and
control the entire financing of the project."
The floating rate, LIBOR-based Bridge Loan, leveraged the project to
approximately 85% of cost. The loan is full recourse, and has a term of 18
months with one, 6-month extension option. Closing occurred on September
27, 2007.
About Essex Property Financial Corporation
Essex Property Financial Corporation (EPFC) is a multi-faceted provider of
debt and equity capital for real estate located in the Western United
States. EPFC invests in middle market transactions generally from $10
million to $100 million, providing Bridge Loans, B-Notes, Mezzanine Loans,
and Preferred and Joint Venture equity. Additional information about EPFC
can be found at www.essexpropertytrust.com/epfc.html.
About Essex Property Trust, Inc.
Essex Property Trust, Inc., located in Palo Alto, California and traded on
the New York Stock Exchange (ESS), is a fully integrated real estate
investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages
multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast communities.
Essex currently has ownership interests in 138 multifamily properties
(units), and has 28,364 units in various stages of development. Additional
information about Essex can be found on the Company's web site at
www.essexpropertytrust.com. If you would like to receive future press
releases via e-mail-please send a request to
investors@essexpropertytrust.com.