Richard Mack, Priyanka Garg and Kevin Cullinan
Co-Founder and CEO; Co-Heads of Real Estate Credit Investment Business at Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies
Last year's rank: 37
Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies (MRECS) expanded its reach out West in 2022 in originating $3.8 billion of lending volume.
The New York City-based firm last year closed its first deals in the markets of Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Napa, Calif., and Reno, Nev. A year before, MRECS expanded with transactions in Austin, Atlanta and Nashville.
“The purpose was not only to expand our geographic portfolio but to take advantage of opportunities we see in high-growth markets,” Kevin Cullinan said.
Lending activity for MRECS involved a variety of asset classes with a number of deals executed in multifamily, including office-to-residential conversions and build-to-rent projects. The company also was active in the hospitality and industrial sectors.
“Those are the asset classes that we have the most conviction on,” Cullinan said of multifamily, industrial and hospitality.
Deal highlights for MRECS from the past year included a $227 million whole loan to finance the Proper Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., which debuted in 2019. It also provided a $200 million construction loan for a built-to-rent portfolio owned by TPA Group to be developed in the Southeast, largely in Florida and Georgia.
On the office-to-residential conversion front, MRECS supplied a $207.5 million loan for Post Brothers to transform properties at 1825 and 1875 Connecticut Avenue in Washington, D.C’s Dupont Circle neighborhood into a luxury multifamily development.
MRECS also set the wheels in motion last year for a new unlevered loan program announced in April that will originate low-leverage first-mortgage loans and A notes for other alternative lenders. Much like in past years, MRECS leveraged the broader Mack Real Estate Group platform to help carve out its financing strategy in a rising interest rate environment and uncertainty with long-term valuations for certain property types.
A commitment to improve diversity in the commercial real estate industry was also front and center at MRECS in the last year as it participated in Project Destined, a platform for recruiting minorities to the industry. The firm also recently launched a mentor/mentee program that encourages employees of all backgrounds to connect and learn from one another.
“Having a more diverse workforce creates value for the business,” Richard Mack said. —A.C.
