NEW YORK CITY — Berkadia has secured the title of top agency lender for 2023. The firm closed roughly $6.6 billion in Freddie Mac loans and $5.3 billion in Fannie Mae loans, good for the first and second place, respectively, among qualified government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) lenders. Berkadia was also the top HUD lender in terms of volume, closing $1.2 billion in HUD-insured loans in 2023.
BETHESDA, MD. — Walker & Dunlop has been recognized as the largest Fannie Mae DUS (Delegated Underwriting and Servicing) lender by volume for last year, with $6.6 billion in multifamily originations in 2023. Additionally, Fannie Mae has named the Bethesda-based firm as the top producer for green financing and for student housing. Walker & Dunlop also took the third places amongst producers of multifamily affordable housing and as a producer for small loans. Freddie Mac also recognized Walker & Dunlop as the third biggest Optigo lender in 2023, with a volume of $4.6 billion. “With rate cuts expected in 2024, and banks and other capital sources still reluctant to lend, it is our expectation that the need for GSE [government-sponsored enterprise] capital…remains strong in the coming year,” says Willy Walker, chairman and CEO of Walker & Dunlop.
PHILADELPHIA — Spiezle Architectural Group has opened a 6,200-square-foot office at 615 Chestnut St. in downtown Philadelphia. The space features 30 seats and 26 open workstations for collaboration, as well as views of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Bob Reid will lead the new office as principal. Spiezle now operates six offices across the country.
NEW YORK CITY AND TORONTO — Affiliates of Blackstone (NYSE: BX) have entered into an agreement to acquire Tricon Residential (NYSE: TCN) for $3.5 billion in a deal that will take the Canadian owner-operator private. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter. One of the acquiring entities, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT), already has an 11 percent ownership stake in Tricon Residential following a $240 million equity purchase in 2020. Under the terms of the deal, the New York City-based global asset manager will acquire all outstanding shares of Tricon’s common stock for $11.25 per share in cash. The per-share price represents a 30 percent premium over Tricon’s closing stock price on Thursday, Jan. 18 and a 42 percent premium over the weighted average share prices of the last 90 days. Blackstone intends to maintain and leverage the Tricon platform as it undertakes $1 billion of single-family residential development in the United States and $2.5 billion of traditional multifamily development in Canada. Tricon’s U.S. platform encompasses roughly 2,500 single-family residences in various stages of development, as well as numerous land holdings that can support an additional 21,000 homes. Tricon’s apartment development pipeline in Canada consists of …
BELLEVUE, WASH. — Transforming Age, a Bellevue-based nonprofit operator, has completed its affiliation with Elder Care Alliance (ECA). By combining their expertise, the two organizations aim to strengthen and grow their mission impact and better address the evolving needs of older adults across the economic spectrum, according to Transforming Age. Transforming Age is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit senior living providers, serving more than 125,000 older adults by integrating housing, community services, technology, philanthropy and partnerships. Guided by a similar set of values and rich culture, San Francisco Bay Area-based Elder Care Alliance is a nonprofit system serving almost 10,000 older adults across five communities and a system of community programs throughout California. The organization came together more than 25 years ago and has founding roots dating back to the 1870s with the Sisters of Mercy. Under this new partnership, both organizations will leverage their combined strengths to broaden their service offerings, providing older adults with an expanded array of programs, care options and sustainable housing solutions. The ECA affiliation also bolsters Transforming Age’s presence in California, the state with the highest population of residents over the age of 65. The Transforming Age network of affiliates, which recently announced …
DALLAS — Burger chain Smalls Sliders has signed an agreement with hospitality group Om Texas to open five restaurants, dubbed “Cans,” in metro Dallas. This marks the second multi-unit franchise deal in the city for the brand. Potential locations include Mesquite, Garland, Rockwall, Greenville, Murphy, Rowlett and Richardson, with the first store scheduled to open in the fourth quarter. Smalls Sliders opened its first Can in 2019 and currently has more than 160 restaurants open or under development.
TORONTO AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — Avison Young has entered into an agreement to acquire Madison Marquette’s retail platform for an undisclosed price. The acquisition will include the Washington, D.C.-based firm’s retail property management, marketing and leasing services throughout the United States; and a portfolio comprising more than 6.1 million square feet of properties managed and leased by Madison Marquette. Madison Marquette teams will integrate with those of Toronto-based Avison Young in Los Angeles, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Indiana, Arkansas, Maryland, Virginia, Atlanta and Florida, and the acquisition expands Avison Young’s presence to Seattle. In 2022, Avison Young acquired Madison Marquette’s office and industrial property management, agency leasing and project management service lines. “Avison Young is going all-in into the retail sector, and I am eager to take the firm’s vision of expanding its retail platform to the next level with the help of our strong team of retail leasing, management, marketing and market intelligence experts and Avison Young’s innovative data capabilities,” says Gavin Farnam, principal and managing director of U.S. retail services with Madison Marquette. Farnam will lead Avison Young’s U.S. retail property management and leasing teams.
OAK BROOK, ILL. — The Inland Real Estate Group of Cos. Inc. has agreed to acquire a majority interest in the business of Devon Self Storage Holdings LLC. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Devon manages 202 properties totaling roughly 109,000 units nationally. Founded in 1988 by Ken Nitzberg, Devon has owned, managed or developed more than 350 self-storage facilities in 27 states and three European countries throughout its history. Since entering the self-storage sector in 2016, Oak Brook-based Inland has amassed a $1.7 billion self-storage portfolio of both stabilized assets and development projects across 30 states. Inland plans to grow Devon’s third-party management and development platform.
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS — Peinado Construction, a Texas-based general contractor that specializes in industrial projects, has opened a new office in the northern Austin suburb of Pflugerville. Peinado first established its presence in the region with industrial projects for major end users like Caterpillar and Carrier Corp. and most recently completed a 141,282-square-foot data center project in Pflugerville for Skybox and Prologis. Ed Motley will lead the new office as executive vice president.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), as receiver of Signature Bridge Bank, has sold 20 percent of its equity stake in the defunct bank. The agency received the loan portfolio after the failure of Signature Bank in March. Hancock JV Bidco L.L.C. (Hancock), an entity indirectly controlled by Blackstone Inc. and other investors, paid $1.2 billion for a 20 percent equity interest. The portfolio consists of approximately $16.8 billion in commercial real estate loans collateralized by office, retail and market-rate multifamily assets. FDIC will retain an 80 percent equity interest in the venture. Hancock will be responsible for the management, servicing and liquidation of the venture’s assets. The entity will also be required to manage the portfolio in accordance with the terms of the transaction, subject to monitoring and oversight by FDIC. The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) took possession of Signature Bank on March 12. The bank failed after depositors withdrew substantial amounts of money in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10. DFS named FDIC as receiver, and FDIC in turn transferred all deposits of Signature Bank to a new entity called Signature Bridge Bank. The bridge bank …