Meridian Expands Debt Team With Hiring of Eastern’s Adam Hakim and James Murad
By Cathy Cunningham August 27, 2018 11:24 am
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Meridian Capital Group has hired Adam Hakim and James Murad, former managing directors at Eastern Consolidated, Commercial Observer can first report.
The duo will focus on arranging financing for the acquisition, construction and repositioning of properties and are joined by Andrew Iadeluca, formerly an associate director at Eastern. Hakim joins as a senior managing director, Murad as a senior vice president and Iadeluca as a director.
“Adam and James share the unique characteristics and unrelenting work ethic that differentiate Meridian in the marketplace and with their addition we aim to substantially increase our market share in the development and redevelopment space,” Meridian Chairman and CEO Ralph Herzka said in prepared remarks.
Hakim and Murad have worked together for six years, having first crossed paths at brokerage GCP Capital Group in 2012 then moving to Eastern Consolidated in 2015. Iadeluca has worked with the two debt professionals for several years, also.
As first reported by CO, the brokerage announced it was closing its doors after 37 years of business in June.
During the team’s time at Eastern they closed over $10 billion in transactions across various property types, with a specific focus on complex construction financings and value-add loans. Those deals included a $350 million construction loan for Fosun International and J.D. Carlisle Development Group’s luxury condominium tower at 126 Madison Avenue in NoMad; a $215 million construction loan for Cape Advisors’ luxury condominium development at 537 Greenwich Street; a $130 million construction loan for Delshah Capital’s five-building, 205-unit luxury rental conversion located at 30 Morningside Drive; and a $121 million construction loan for Sam Chang’s McSam Hotel Group’s 45-story, 526-key hotel development located at 140 West 28th Street.
“We join Meridian at a terrific time in the firm’s history as well as at a critical moment in the debt capital markets arena. James and I are excited to combine our deep borrower and lender relationships with everything that the Meridian platform has to offer,” Hakim said. “The access to real-time information and opportunity to collaborate with the immense talent internally is going to enable us to service our clients and meaningfully grow our business, which is always exciting.”
“Despite an immensely competitive financing environment, Adam and James have built an extraordinary track record by delivering exceptional value to their clients across a variety of complex and highly nuanced transaction types. Their focus on client relationships and ability to outperform the market exemplify the qualities that have made Meridian the region’s leading debt capital markets firm,” Yoni Goodman, the president of Meridian’s investment sales division, added.
In June, Meridian also nabbed Eastern’s James Famularo to helm the firm’s new retail division, as first reported by CO.
