OREANDA-NEWS. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT), cit.com, a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, today announced that CIT Real Estate Finance served as Sole Lead Arranger and Administrative Agent for a $61.8 million senior secured credit facility to TNREF III Parkway JV, LLC, a joint venture between True North Management Group and Fulcrum Asset Advisors. The financing will support the JV’s acquisition of three Class A office properties, totaling 480,000 square feet, located in Deerfield, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Financing was provided by CIT Bank, N.A., the principal bank subsidiary of CIT. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The properties being acquired are 3 Parkway North, 6 Parkway North and 9 Parkway North, all located within the Parkway North Center Office Park, an 85.5-acre suburban office park consisting of six office buildings totaling approximately 1 million square feet, with a daycare center, a 250-room hotel and a recently built luxury apartment complex.

Girard Tunney, Principal, True North Management Group, said, “This transaction offers us the opportunity to make an investment on behalf of our clients in Class A commercial real estate in a very desirable and strong regional market. The buildings acquired have been well maintained, with desirable upgrades that have continued to attract institutional tenant demand. Under new management, we plan to make further enhancements to the caf? and winter garden and develop additional parking. CIT has been a superb financial partner throughout the transaction, and its commercial real estate expertise was clear from start to finish.”

Peter Broccolo, Principal, Fulcrum Asset Advisors, said, “The acquisition of these properties offers long-term value for us and True North’s investors and represents a unique opportunity in a competitive market. Lake County has a diverse economy and serves as the headquarters for multiple global companies, thanks to its well-educated workforce and the high quality of life in local communities. These buildings and the surrounding area have desirable amenities, and the additional planned renovations will add further value for tenants. We appreciate all that CIT did to bring this financing to fruition, including leveraging its structuring capabilities to support the execution of this transaction.”

Matt Galligan, President, CIT Real Estate Finance, said, “The Greater Chicago area, including Lake County, is a destination for companies and individuals alike. These buildings further benefit from proximity to major highways, providing convenient access to downtown Chicago and the broader region as well as O’Hare International Airport. It’s been great to have the opportunity to share our commercial real estate financing knowledge with True North and Fulcrum, and we look forward to working with both firms again.”

Chris Niederpruem, Managing Director, CIT Real Estate Finance, said, “True North and Fulcrum have many years of commercial real estate experience, which they will bring to their management of these three Parkway North properties. We are pleased that we were able to use CIT’s financing abilities to assist them with the acquisition of these properties.”

 

About True North Management Group

True North Management Group, founded in 2004 by Richard Gunthel and Paul Turovsky, is a privately held real estate investment management firm headquartered in White Plains, New York. Since its inception, the firm has successfully completed more than 60 distinct debt and equity investments with more than $965 million in transaction value involving office, retail, hospitality, multifamily and other property types throughout the United States.