St. Louis team is growing, offering full range of capital markets services

Office closes $1 billion in transactions in 2022

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI (April 18, 2023) - Northmarq’s expanding St. Louis office, which includes both Debt and Equity and Investment Sales teams, had an outstanding year in 2022.

The Debt and Equity team completed 31 transactions totaling $449 million, and the St. Louis office as a whole closed 47 transactions valued at $1 billion.

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Notable deals include Northmarq arranging the $70 million sale and financing of Bold on Blvd in St. Peters, Missouri. Northmarq represented TWG Development in selling the 272-unit, trophy-quality asset. The buyer was a private New Jersey-based firm. Northmarq’s Debt/Equity team, led by David Garfinkel, managing director, arranged financing for the buyer.

“That loan really showcases what we can do,” said Garfinkel. “The Investment Sales team sold the asset, and Debt/Equity financed the acquisition for the buyer. That's one of the things that really sets us apart from our competition on the debt side.”

Other notable transactions in 2022 include:

• The St. Louis office brokered the $29 million sale of the Koke Mill Portfolio in Springfield, Illinois. The three-property multifamily portfolio consists of 308 units. Northmarq represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction. The Debt/Equity team arranged acquisition financing of $19.532 million for the properties. Northmarq secured financing for the borrower through its in-house Fannie Mae team.
• The office financed the Aventura at Wentzville in Wentzville, Missouri, a newly completed, 192-unit multifamily complex. Northmarq financed the property as soon as it hit stabilized occupancy.
• The St. Louis Debt and Equity team arranged $21 million in acquisition financing for Bradford Square, a Class A, Publix-anchored neighborhood retail center in Cary, North Carolina. Northmarq arranged the permanent-fixed loan through its relationship with a life insurance company for the borrower, a St. Louis based client.

St. Louis office continues to grow
St. Louis’ Investment Sales platform continues to expand and has two full-time brokers -- Parker Stewart, managing director, and Dominic Martinez, vice president -- as well two new associate brokers and an analyst. Debt and Equity is also growing and recently brought on two new market-leading experts.

“The office is getting bigger, better, stronger,” noted Garfinkel.

The new hires
The office hired Eugene Harris as Vice President – Debt/Equity. Harris has experience with all levels of the capital stack including limited partnerships, preferred assets, and mezzanine financing, in addition to extensive capital market and consulting experience and expertise in transaction structure.

Harris has held numerous positions in the financial services industry over the past three decades. His experience includes asset management, investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity. He most recently was a managing member for Step Change Advisors, LLC, where he managed a portfolio of marketable securities in excess of $100 million for high-net-worth individuals.

“I've been in corporate finance and investment management for 30-plus years, and I wanted to get back into doing transactions,” explained Harris. “David Garfinkel talked with me about this position, and it sounded like a great opportunity to do something that I really enjoy. Northmarq is a fantastic company.”

The St. Louis office also hired Jada Purchase as Vice President – Debt/Equity. Purchase assists in the origination of debt and equity for developers and owners of commercial and multifamily real estate. She and her team work with clients to provide customized financing solutions with a focus on always doing the right thing for them to create longstanding relationships.

Prior to joining Northmarq, Purchase served as a Senior Commercial Relationship Manager with Midland States Bank, where she quickly rose to the top, closing over $140 million in less than 12 months. Additionally, she has experience in wealth management, private banking, and derivatives with Wells Fargo, and commercial mortgage brokerage experience with a boutique firm in Dallas.

“I have known of Northmarq in the marketplace for many years and used to be on this side of the desk before going to work for financial institutions,” explained Purchase. “I was very aware of Northmarq’s fabulous reputation in the marketplace in the multifamily space. When I started to look around for the next step in my career, I saw that Northmarq acquired the Stan Johnson Group, which was a fabulous move into various other commercial real estate asset classes. Northmarq was taking steps to become a powerhouse to compete with other big players in the marketplace.”

Longstanding history, relationships
Northmarq has been in the St. Louis market since 1972.

“We were the second office for the Northland Financial Co. (the predecessor to Northmarq). We’re tried and true,” noted Garfinkel. “We've been around for 50 years and will continue to be around. We’re continuing to grow our Debt and Equity team and our Investment Sales platform as well as expand with the Stan Johnson Group acquisition.”

What Debt/Equity team brings to the table
Northmarq’s Debt and Equity team works closely with clients to determine the optimum capital structure for commercial and multifamily real estate and utilizes its extensive network to secure the necessary debt and equity for each property. Sources include life insurance companies, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD, CMBS lenders and banks, and numerous equity investors.

“Northmarq is a direct Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA/HUD lender. Not everybody has those relationships,” Garfinkel noted. “Many will pitch that they can get directly to Fannie, for example, but they’re brokering it through a DUS shop. We have direct access to Fannie and Freddie for multifamily including student housing, affordable housing, senior housing, and credit facilities. This is in addition to our relationships with 50-plus Blue Chip life insurance companies.”

These agency relationships are more critical than ever in the current lending environment.
“Freddie and Fannie each have $75 billion lending caps, so they’re two of the top lending sources for multifamily properties, and you want to have access to them,” said Garfinkel.

“Freddie and Fannie are also coming out with products where they're doing more five-year or seven-year money today, both with prepay flexibility, because the belief is interest rates are going to continue to rise and then immediately come back down,” he explained. “Many of our clients don't want to lock in 10-year money.”

With the current interest rates high, it’s a challenging time, Garfinkel continued.

“You have to get creative,” he added. “You have to create value for your clients. We will strategize as a team to find the right product and successfully complete the transaction.”