National lending platform provides first mortgage loan to refinance well-located Class-A office building
November 9, 2021 – Charlotte, NC – Rubenstein Mortgage Capital (including its affiliates, “RMC”), a private mortgage lending platform focused on debt investments secured by U.S. transitional office assets, announced that one of its affiliates funded a $37.8 million first mortgage loan collateralized by Esplanade at SouthPark, a 213,324-square-foot, Class-A office building located at 2101 Rexford Road, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
RMC provided the borrower with an initial $28 million at closing to refinance the property’s existing loan and up to $9.8 million of future funding for capital improvements and leasing costs. The transaction was originated by Andrew Murray at RMC, the debt investment platform at Rubenstein Partners, L.P. (collectively, with its affiliates “Rubenstein”), a vertically integrated real estate investment advisor focused on value-add office property equity and debt investments. The borrower in the transaction is an entity controlled by LRC Properties.
Originally built in 1981, Esplanade at SouthPark is a four-story office building with three-stories above grade and a single lower-level floor. There are 626 spaces of paved surface parking and current on-site amenities include a newly designed conference center and lounge, and a fully equipped fitness center. The property is currently 72% leased to 13 notable tenants, including Ally Bank, Lowry & Associates and the Coca-Cola Company.
“This was a compelling deal for RMC to finance,” notes Murray. “The well-located Esplanade at SouthPark remains an attractive choice for businesses in the robust Charlotte office market and the building’s planned capital improvements should boost local interest even further. We’re pleased to provide needed funding to a sponsor that understands we offer flexibility and certainty of execution in an uncertain market.”
The property sits in the growing SouthPark submarket of Charlotte and near the popular South Park Mall. SouthPark has evolved into a renowned live-work-play submarket with over 2.7 million square feet of retail space and many upscale retail and restaurants nearby. The Esplanade at SouthPark is also located south of the Uptown and South End Charlotte submarkets, has nearby access to I-77 and I-485, and is approximately 10 miles from the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. There are currently over 1,300 luxury apartment units under development within a mile of the property.
The RMC platform has fully discretionary investment capital and targets non-recourse first mortgage loans of $25 to $100+ million in markets throughout the country with a focus on office properties in need of debt capital for acquisition, repositioning or for ground-up construction.