Justin Kennedy, Jonathan Roth and Toby Cobb

Using a borrower-first approach that relies heavily on personal relationships and hands-on asset management skills from a trio of professionals with a century of collective CRE experience, 3650 REIT — a national lender of permanent capital, bridge loans and transitional financing — notched $1.3 billion in originations in 2022. 

With $2.8 billion in assets under management as of January 2023 and $13.6 billion worth of loans serviced by the firm, the office of Jonathan Roth, Justin Kennedy and Toby Cobb once again saw zero defaults and zero delinquencies across its portfolio in 2022.

“We attribute that, in large part, to the fact that we do our own discreet due diligence of every asset we make a loan against,” said Roth. “And we maintain that direct relationship [with our borrowers] from the very beginning until the loan is paid off through our servicing platform.” 

Roughly 70 percent of every loan originated last year by 3650 REIT was for either an existing borrower, a repeat borrower, or someone with whom the firm has had a relationship. The firm has set up a system of checks and balances, and it designs credit facilities so there’s an early warning system to protect borrowers.

“We don’t take anything for granted. We don’t believe we’re perfect, but we do believe that from the more than 100 years of collective experience the three of us share is that you learn a lot of lessons along the way,” Roth said. “And we’ve taken the lessons learned and created a platform that we believe is best in class.” 

Together with its bridge and event-driven (BED) and stable cash flow (SCF) platforms, the firm launched a new transitional lending platform in January 2023 that anticipated the need to offer borrowers additional lending products as regional banks faced capital constraints.

Major deals and asset classes 3650 REIT deployed capital to in 2022 included a trio of transactions in South Florida and a project in southeast Texas. 

3650 REIT provided $72.35 million to a $1 billion SASB securitization deal collateralized by the Dolphin Mall in Miami; financed a $76.5 million construction loan to complete a 293-unit multifamily apartment complex in Dania Beach, Fla.; refinanced the Art Ovation Hotel in Sarasota, Fla., through a $57.5 million refinance loan; and used a $30.4 preferred equity investment to acquire a pair of residential communities in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

Nearly 40 percent of the firm’s BED loans are allocated to the Southeast, 24 percent to the Southwest, 18 percent to the Pacific, and 11 percent to the Northeast and Midwest. 

“We spend a lot of time with our borrowers, working through problems, because we understand development,” said Roth. “And it’s powerful.” —B.P.