Canyon Funds $27.4 Million Senior Loan for Mixed-Use Property in Tampa, FL

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC (Canyon) has provided a $27.4 million senior loan to GCAK Tampa LLC (GCAK), an affiliate of Tampa-based Mercury Advisors LLC (Mercury), to refinance GCAK’s assets in the Grand Central at Kennedy (Grand Central), a mixed-use project in Tampa’s Channel District. The refinancing will enable GCAK to complete the sales and marketing of the remaining residential condominium units and to continue the lease up and build-out of the remaining first generation office and retail space.

“This transaction exemplifies Canyon’s ability to quickly underwrite a loan that required creative structuring”

Grand Central is a Class-A project with 392 residential condominium units, nearly 110,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and approximately 70,000 square feet of office space. GCAK acquired the property’s unsold residential, office and retail space from the original developer in 2010. The project has experienced strong buyer demand for its residential units over the past 12 months. The office space owned by GCAK is over 80% occupied and is anchored by St. Leo University. The ground floor retail space is fully owned by GCAK and anchored by Powerhouse Gym, one of the most popular gyms in Tampa, and features neighborhood-serving retail including several casual restaurants, a neighborhood bar, a dry cleaner, a hair salon and a furniture store.

The project is located just east of downtown Tampa in the heart of the Channel District residential and entertainment district, an area historically occupied by industrial warehouses and loft buildings. However, over the past decade, the neighborhood has transitioned into a thriving urban community.

“The Channel District has established itself as a highly desirable place to live in Tampa,” said Bobby Turner, Chairman and CEO of Canyon Capital Realty Advisors. “Grand Central is a high quality project that is poised to capture the growing residential and commercial demand in the Channel District.”

Grand Central is ideally located in close proximity to several points of interest in downtown Tampa including various museums along the Riverwalk, one of the largest ports in the State of Florida, the Tampa Convention Center, the Tampa Bay Times Forum hockey arena and the Florida Aquarium. The building is also near several employment centers and the TECO Line Street System, which links the Channel District to downtown, Ybor City, Harbour Island and the Convention Center.

“This transaction exemplifies Canyon’s ability to quickly underwrite a loan that required creative structuring,” said Canyon Principal Jonathan Roth, “We are pleased to be working with an experienced management team like Mercury, and to facilitate the continued success of the project’s sell-out and stabilization.”

“We appreciate the Canyon team’s tremendous ability to close this transaction quickly. Their team was accretive throughout the entire underwriting process,” said Frank Bombeeck, Principal at Mercury. “The financing provides us with the structure and the time needed to execute our business plan of continuing the sell-out of the residences at Grand Central owned by GCAK and securing additional retail and office tenants that will be a significant asset to the local community.”

The financing for Grand Central was arranged by NorthMarq Capital’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director Robert Hernandez and Assistant Vice President Alison Williams, both located in the Tampa office.

Grand Central’s residential condominium units consist of studio, one bedroom and two bedroom layouts. Unit interiors feature quality finishes including gourmet kitchens with Viking appliances, granite countertops and hardwood floors in select units, as well as oversized showers and frontloading washers and dryers. Building amenities include structured parking, two open-air pool decks, a gym, club-house, 24-hour concierge and storage spaces. Further property information is available at www.grandcentralatkennedy.com.

About Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC

Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC and its affiliate Canyon Capital Advisors LLC are registered investment advisors and money management firms based in Los Angeles, California, with approximately $20 billion of capital under management. Canyon’s real estate investment activities focus on providing debt and equity capital to real estate owners, operators, developers, corporations and entrepreneurs, enabling them to participate in transactions that would have traditionally eluded them due to capital constraints. Canyon’s investment platforms include: (a) the Canyon Value Mortgage Funds which originate and/or purchase senior and mezzanine mortgage debt, (b) the Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, a series of closed-end real estate funds and joint venture with Earvin “Magic” Johnson focusing on inner-city and urban real estate development and (c) the Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, a joint venture with Andre Agassi focusing on the development of learning friendly, environmentally responsible charter school facilities for best in class charter school operators.