Sockeye Secures $28M Loan for Museum Place South

PORTLAND-Portland-based Sockeye Development has closed a $28 million transaction that provides construction and permanent financing for Museum Place South, a mixed-use project containing 140 market-rate and affordable loft-style apartments plus a new 47,000 square foot Safeway grocery store located in Downtown Portland.

Sockeye secured a forward commitment under the Fannie Mae DUS Program for a Fannie Mae AAA-rated credit enhancement for $20,000,000 of fixed-rate tax-exempt bonds and $8,400,000 of variable-rate taxable bonds issued by the City of Portland. The transaction also provides an earn-out feature for an additional $1,500,000 of taxable bonds, which could potentially bring Fannie Mae’s total credit enhancement to $29.9 million.

U.S. Bank will act as the construction lender and will provide credit enhancement for the bonds during construction and lease-up with the bank’s Letter of Credit. The transaction was underwritten to 83.5% of the project’s stabilized loan-to-value upon completion and a 1.25x DSCR. The interest rate on the 30-year tax-exempt bonds was locked at 6.35% while the interest rate on the variable rate taxable bonds will reset every 30 days.