Government-Leased Building Buyer Tries Canada

REGINA, SK-Elman Investors has taken its government-leased building investment plan outside the US for the first time, buying an office asset here that is occupied by the government of Saskatchewan for at least the next six years. The New York City-based company paid about $10 million for the 80,000-sf building.

Company principal Lee Elman tells GlobeSt.com the acquisition was financed with a $7-million mortgage loan from Column Financial, an affiliate of Credit Suisse First Boston. The loan carries a 6.25% interest rate and a 25-year amortization schedule. The $3 million in equity was supplied by Elman and other high-net-worth individuals.

“Canada has a complicated tax structure–there are all sorts of withholding and income taxes-and we had to make the deal work within that structure” says Elman. “The first one is always one of the toughest.”