Meridian advises Harbor Group International on $1.8 billion acquisition of the Beacon Portfolio

Boston, MA Meridian Capital Group served as the exclusive debt capital markets advisor to Harbor Group International (HGI) on $1.4 billion in acquisition financing for its $1.8 billion purchase of a 25-property multifamily portfolio located in the D.C. metro area, PA, MD, IL, MA and NJ.

Meridian arranged a financing package that afforded HGI a multi-tiered solution addressing its business plan for each asset. The financing consists of a combination of Freddie Mac fixed and floating-rate debt sourced through Berkadia as well as five-year, fixed-rate, balance sheet financing provided by New York Community Bank. 

Ralph Herzka, Meridian’s CEO, led a team that included senior managing director, Abe Hirsch and managing director, Zev Karpel.

“HGI hired Meridian to arrange a highly-customized solution. We canvassed a broad array of lenders and experimented with different loan structures, ultimately arriving at optimized solutions addressing HGI’s business plan for each asset,” said Herzka. “These are excellent cash-flowing assets in premium, supply-constrained east coast markets. We applaud HGI on this transformative transaction and feel honored to have partnered with HGI on this landmark debt package.”

The Beacon Portfolio comprises 25 multifamily properties totaling a combined 9,677 residential units in major metropolitan areas, near public transportation and within desirable school districts. Because of location and strong management, the properties boast high tenant retention and should continue to benefit from high economic barriers to entry, stable job growth and limited new development of competing properties.

Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group is America’s most active deal maker and one of the nation’s leading commercial real estate finance and investment sales firms. In 2016, Meridian closed $35 billion in loan volume and sold over $2 billion in commercial properties. Since inception, the company has closed more than $270 billion in financing with the full complement of capital providers, encompassing local, regional and national banks, CMBS lenders, agency lenders, mortgage REITs, life insurance companies, credit unions and private equity funds. Meridian represents many of the world’s leading real estate investors and developers and the company’s expansive platform has specialized practices for a broad array of property types including office, retail, multifamily, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, healthcare, student housing and self-storage properties. Meridian is headquartered in New York City with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Ohio, Florida and California.