TD Bank has committed to finance the latest phase of Valley Brook Village, a development that will create 50 additional units of affordable rental apartments with onsite support services for homeless and disabled veterans.

The bank has provided a $6 million construction loan to the Affordable Housing and Services Collaborative Inc. and Peabody Properties Inc. through its Commercial Real Estate Group. The funds will aid the expansion of the existing 62-unit Valley Brook Village development, one of the first Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing communities for homeless Veterans.

TD Bank is funding the development of a three-story building consisting of 50, one-bedroom apartments, situated around a common green to complement the existing village-style community. The development, which is being built by development partner, Windover Construction Inc., will provide permanent housing for homeless and at-risk veterans of all ages and branches of the military. In addition, supportive services and amenities designed to assist veterans in meeting their personal and career goals will be provided by Community Hope and coordinated by Peabody Resident Services, Inc.

"At TD Bank, we celebrate the dedication of all military personnel for their commitment to our country," said Thomas McColgan, Vice President at TD Bank. "We are focused on projects and resource groups geared towards our veterans, so that they can be part of a supportive community that will enable them to attain their goals and continue to live meaningful lives after military service."

Building on the success of Phase I, the development will be accessible to nearby health-care services and public transportation. Residents will have access to a shuttle service, landscaped walkways, shared outdoor spaces and a state-of-the art learning center. The development will also include space for onsite case management, education and employment services.

"TD Bank has been instrumental in supporting our effort to provide affordable housing for veterans," said Melissa Fish-Crane, principal and COO of Peabody Properties Inc. "This project will build on the success of Phase I, helping to not only expand the close-knit Valley Brook community, but also create a supportive environment with comprehensive services, so veterans are empowered to overcome the many challenges they face after returning home from service."

Valley Brook Village is built on land provided through the Department of Veterans Affairs Enhanced-Use Lease Program on the VA New Jersey Health Care campus in Bernards Township. The township also provided funding for the project from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Additional funding was also awarded from the County of Somerset's Homeless Trust Fund Program, the VA and several private foundations, including The Home Depot Foundation.

"This development has been crucial for the veterans who reside here; a place to call home for those who have served our country," said Michael Armstrong, CEO of Community Hope Inc. "The expansion of Valley Brook Village will enable us to continue growing this special community, so that more veterans can benefit from the services and camaraderie that we're able to provide." Construction has started and is expected to be completed by September 2019.

Walker and Dunlop has licensed the commercial serving platform from SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc. In addition to loan servicing, the platform will support asset management, insurance compliance, document management and investor reporting.

“SS&C invested significant time with our team to develop an in-depth understanding of our business and requirements,” said Jim Schroeder, senior vice president of loan servicing for Walker & Dunlop. “They delivered a comprehensive loan servicing solution with the flexibility to outsource select functions to optimize operational efficiency and scale.” Walker and Dunlop’s loan portfolio is $78 billion.

Walker and Dunlop was the seventh largest commercial mortgage servicer in the United States, with a servicing portfolio that totaled $77.9 billion, as of June 30. In 2017, Walker and Dunlop was the No. 1 Fannie Mae DUS Lender, number two GSE Lender, No. 3 Freddie Mac Multifamily Approved Seller-Servicer and No. 4 HUD Multifamily Lender.

The platform supports commercial-multifamily loan programs, from among others  Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Bridge and Life Company.

SS&C will provide cloud-based software and outsourcing services including Precision LM for loan servicing, and AWD, an enterprise business process management system, which combines automation, workforce optimization and digital transformation for insurance compliance and renewals.

Walker and Dunlop has specialized in providing customized financing solutions to owners and operators of commercial real estate properties across the United States since 1937.

“Our loan servicing software like Precision LM with expert outsourcing services and complementary technologies such as AWD, positions SS&C as a strategic partner for large, complex servicers like Walker and Dunlop,” said Rahul Kanwar, president and CEO of SS&C.

Wells Fargo and Co. has closed a $700 million syndicated loan facility to The Howard Hughes Corporation a real estate developer of residential and commercial properties. “This new facility achieves our stated financial goals of both increasing our financial flexibility as well as reducing our weighted average cost of capital. By reducing our cost of funding, extending our maturity and adding a revolving component, this financing exemplifies our commitment to further improving our credit metrics,” said David O’Reilly, chief financial officer at Hughes.

The loan facility comprises a $615 million term loan and an $85 million revolver that will provide general working capital for Hughes. The loan facility is secured by a diverse collateral pool comprised of 26 retail, office and hotel properties located in Hughes’s acclaimed master planned communities of Ward Village, The Woodlands, and downtown Columbia.

• Ward Village is a 60-acre coastal master planned community in the heart of Honolulu. Upon completion it will introduce around one-million square feet of retail experiences, and it is home to 90 unique stores and 40 restaurants.
• The Woodlands is a 28,000-acre award-winning master planned community, located 27 miles north of downtown Houston. Highlights include 1725 and 1735 Hughes Landing, two Class A office towers with a structured parking garage, located within the 66-acre, mixed-use Hughes Landing development, one of Houston’s premier mixed-use urban centers.
• Downtown Columbia is located at the center of Columbia, Md., one of the first master planned communities in the U.S., founded by legendary developer James W. Rouse in 1967. At full buildout, the redevelopment of downtown Columbia will feature more than 14 million square feet of office, hotel, retail, as well as residential, cultural, and public space. Highlights include Columbia Corporate Center and One Merriweather, nine Class A and Class B office buildings.

“This financing achieves several objectives, including converting bridge and construction loans to a five-year term loan facility that provides operating flexibility and enhanced liquidity for The Howard Hughes Corporation,” said Bill Vernon, head of real estate banking in the commercial group of Wells Fargo.

Greystone has closed the industry’s first collateralized loan obligation that consists of only healthcare assets, particularly skilled nursing, assisted-living and independent-living facilities.

The Greystone Commercial Real Estate Notes is a $300 million collateralized loan obligation backed exclusively by bridge loans on healthcare-related properties. The company is a real estate lending, investment and advisory company in multifamily and healthcare finance.

The initial collateral pool comprises 20 whole loans totaling $249.2 million that Greystone originated, secured by mortgages on 25 skilled-nursing, assisted-living and independent-living facilities located in 12 states. It plans to invest the remaining $50.8 million of collateralized loan obligation proceeds over the next 120 days into additional loans. The three-year actively-managed collateralized loan obligation provides a new financing option for the skilled nursing sector.

“Through this new CLO, Greystone has tapped into the strong demand for investment grade commercial real estate securities by introducing a first-ever healthcare transaction. We offered a combination of high credit-quality collateral with anticipated attractive returns backed by Greystone’s 18-year experience as a leading financier working with investors, owners and operators in the healthcare real-estate space,” said Jeffrey Baevsky, head of capital market finance at Greystone. “This latest CLO is the culmination of deliberate steps we have taken to crystalize our commitment to and leadership in the broader healthcare real estate sector.”

“As we continue on a record-breaking year of bridge financing, we are thrilled to have vehicles such as this CLO, and our recently-closed $750 million senior debt fund, to help widen capacity for bridge-to-Agency loans, a lending product where we are an industry leader,” added Mark Jarrell, head of Greystone’s portfolio lending group.  The company offers commercial lending across a variety of platforms such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, commercial mortgaged-backed securities, Federal Housing Administration, USDA, bridge, EB-5 and other proprietary loan products.

Greystone’s extensive participation in the broader seniors-healthcare market spans mortgage and mezzanine lending, management and ownership/operational advisory activities. As a Department of Housing and Urban Development lender for healthcare facilities, Greystone recently achieved record volume for its bridge loans on seniors/healthcare facilities, more than doubling last year’s volume.

J.P. Morgan Securities acted as placement agent on the transaction with U.S. Bank National Association serving as Trustee.