Marc Tropp, a senior managing director with Eastern Union, has secured $13.297 milion in financing toward the ground-up construction of a four-story, 931-unit, self-storage facility at 80 Barber Ave. in Worcester, Massachusetts. Together with Senior Managing Director David Merkin, Tropp oversees the firm’s Mid-Atlantic Region office in Bethesda, Maryland.
The climate-controlled property will have a gross size of 126,260 square feet and 93,186 square feet of rentable space. The average unit size will be 100 square feet.
“This construction project had suffered from unacceptable delays until Eastern Union arrived on the scene,” Tropp said. “By working quickly and efficiently, we pleased the borrower by promptly identifying a willing lender for this transaction.”
The financing carries a 65% loan-to-cost value. The interest rate over an initial, 36-month construction and lease-up period will equal 300 basis points over SOFR. The borrower will make interest-only payments during this period.
The original lender, a local bank, had subjected the project to lengthy delays. The lender waited nine months before finally advising the borrower that it would be unable to deliver on financing. Tropp and the Eastern Union team closed the deal with a local community bank within 60 days.
The construction term will be followed by a permanent loan over an initial five-year term at an interest rate of 300 bps over the FHLB rate. The rate will then reset to 300 bps above the then-Federal Home Loan Banks rate in Year Six for a second, five-year term. The permanent loan will be tied to a 30-year amortization period.
The facility will be operated by CubeSmart. Value-added amenities at the site will include exterior lighting, security gates, uncovered parking, onsite managers and video surveillance.
