MIAMI & FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Oct. 3, 2014 – A team of South Florida attorneys with international law firm Greenberg Traurig successfully handled the negotiations for an $18.1 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan by Prudential Mortgage Capital Company secured by a condominium property in Jacksonville, Fla.
The transaction, which closed Wednesday, completes the multi-year effort by client 22 Lantern LLC to turn around Lantern Square Apartments, a previously failed condo conversion project. The new CMBS loan was used to refinance an existing condo conversion mortgage loan and reacquire numerous units from third parties in the building.
Lantern 22, which is managed by Vivian Zumot Dimond on behalf of several private investors, initially acquired the property in 2006. Just before the economic crash, the owners converted the apartment complex into a condo and began trying to sell units.
“After it became clear that there was not a market for condos at this property, the owners began re-acquiring units to take advantage of the strong market demand for multifamily properties,” said Steve Bassin, a real estate attorney with Greenberg Traurig, who led this transaction. “Our firm is pleased to have helped our client make this turnaround a reality and capitalize on the current market trends.”
The Greenberg Traurig team included Miami real estate attorneys Steve Bassin and Michael A. Roussis, with assistance from Noam Lipshitz, a tax attorney at the firm’s Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office and Jennifer Hage, a paralegal in the Miami office.