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| Carolyn Wilson |
ATLANTA, GA, June 15, 2016 - Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.
(HFF) announced today that it has closed the sale of and secured financing for
a 31-property, Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) portfolio totaling 8,498
units in various Florida locations.
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| Jack Wilson[Tampa Times file photo: Mike Pease) |
HFF marketed the portfolio
exclusively on behalf of The Wilson Company.
Starwood Property Trust, an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group
(Starwood), purchased the offering for $563.5 million.
Additionally, HFF worked on behalf of the new
owner to secure financing totaling $255.87 million through Freddie Mac’s
(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) CME Program on 19 of the assets.
The securitized loans will be serviced by HFF
through its Freddie Mac Program Plus® Seller/Servicer program.
Heavily concentrated in
Orlando and Tampa, the portfolio was developed between 1995 and 2004 under
Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Under this code, developers receive LIHTC to offset development costs. In return, LIHTC properties are encumbered with
long-term rent and income restrictions.
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| Doug Childers |
On average, maximum
allowable rents across the portfolio are approximately $350 below prevailing
rents at nearby market-rate communities.
Tremendous demand for affordable housing across the portfolio contributed
to an average portfolio occupancy exceeding 97 percent at the time of sale.
The HFF investment sales
team was led by managing director Doug
Childers along with senior managing director Jason Nettles and managing director Matt Mitchell.
HFF’s debt placement team
was led by managing director Gregg
Shapiro and executive managing director Jody Thornton.
“This transaction
represents the beginning of a new era for LIHTC investment sales,” Childers
said. “Traditionally, LIHTC transactions
have attracted primarily private, regional capital providers.
“ HFF’s affordable housing
experts were able to educate institutional investors regarding the portfolio’s
relatively low cash-flow volatility and the regulatory and operational nuances
associated with LIHTC communities.
“As a result, we were able
to create a competitive bidding process that included large, institutional
investors.”
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| Jason Nettles |
“Starwood emerged from the
field by proposing an expedited closing process and demonstrating a thorough
understanding of the opportunity,” added Nettles. “They performed flawlessly as though they had
been investing in the LIHTC space for years.”
“In addition to The Wilson
Company and Starwood’s performance throughout this process, Freddie Mac clearly
demonstrated its commitment to affordable housing through its creativity and
collaboration in order to provide attractive financing that supported
Starwood’s acquisition of this portfolio,” said Shapiro.
“The financing put the borrower in a position
to not only achieve their targeted returns on its investment but also to
continue to invest in these communities and ensure that they provide
high-quality affordable housing long-term.”
“I became president of The
Wilson Company in 2003,” said Carolyn
Wilson, president of The Wilson Company.
“It has been a rocky road for The Wilson Company employees, my family
and me. My husband, Jack Wilson, would have been proud of what we have accomplished
here. The sale of the portfolio is the
culmination of ‘The House that Jack Built’.”
“Our thanks to HFF, who
provided and engineered this opportunity, and to the talented Wilson Company
team that managed and participated in this amazing transaction,” continued
Wilson.
“The Wilson Company continues in property
management, managing the Franklin Exchange Building in downtown Tampa, which
serves as the company’s headquarters, along with other commercial properties.”
For a complete copy of the company’s news release,
please contact:
Olivia Hennessey
Public Relations
Coordinator
HFF | 9 Greenway Plaza
Suite 700 | Houston, Texas 77046
tel 713.852.3403 | fax
713.527.8725 | www.hfflp.com
www.freddiemac.com,
Twitter @FreddieMac and Freddie Mac’s blog FreddieMac.com/blog.
