MetLife Real Estate Provides $50M Refinancing for The Cigar Factory in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. — MetLife Real Estate has provided a $50 million loan for the refinancing of The Cigar Factory, a historic redevelopment project located at 701 E. Bay St. in downtown Charleston. The mixed-use project spans five stories and features 50,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of office space. The Cigar Factory’s office tenants include JLL, KSQ Design, Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group, The Shopping Center Group, Lee & Associates Charleston, Garden & Gun Magazine, SnapCap and ServisFirst. Retail tenants include Fritz Porter, KOKO FitClub, Mercantile & Mash and Trunk Club, as well as event space called The Cedar Room. MetLife Real Estate provided the fixed-rate loan with a 20-year amortization schedule to the owner, a joint venture between Federal Capital Partners (FCP), Wecco Development and Weaver Capital Partners LLC. The joint venture purchased the vacant project in April 2014 and is using the refinancing to replace construction financing, which was provided by PNC Real Estate. FCP provided mezzanine debt and equity in the joint venture’s original purchase. Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group arranged the permanent loan with MetLife, as well as the original construction financing with PNC Real Estate and the partnership with FCP.