BEL AIR, Md. – December 1, 2017 – Berkadia today announced that it has arranged financing totaling nearly $1 billion for the acquisition of the Beacon multifamily property portfolio. Managing Directors Laura Cathlina and Sharon Plattner of Berkadia’s Chicago office secured the Freddie Mac loan on behalf of affiliates of Harbor Group International. The deal closed on November 30.

“Our team was pleased to have been given the opportunity to assist Harbor Group International with the financing of this exclusive portfolio that supports their diversified investment strategy,” said Cathlina. “The end result was a creative multi-faceted loan structure which will provide Harbor a significant amount of flexibility for future decision making.  Our partners at Freddie Mac did an outstanding job in working with us to structure this transaction.”

The Freddie Mac financing encompasses 16 properties located in Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, which are part of an overall 25 property portfolio. Eleven of the properties were financed with a fixed rate vehicle for over $789 million. The remaining five properties were financed with a floating rate vehicle for over $138 million.

“The acquisition of the Beacon portfolio represents a milestone transaction for Harbor Group International (HGI) as we continue to grow our investment portfolio,” commented T. Richard Litton, Jr., HGI president. “We are very appreciative of Berkadia’s work on our behalf to structure almost $1 billion of Freddie Mac fixed and floating rate debt.”

Since the beginning of 2017, Berkadia’s mortgage banking team has closed over $19 billion in production volume – an increase of 22 percent compared to the previous year. In 2016, Berkadia’s loan origination volume was $20 billion, ranking first with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, second with Freddie Mac and fourth with Fannie Mae in delivered loan volume.