Josh Zegen

Madison Realty Capital (MRC) scaled its overall lending business in 2025, powered in a big way by the Sunshine State.

The private lender executed more than $8 billion of direct commercial real estate originations last year, with about 20 percent derived from the South Florida region. The firm was particularly active last year in the multifamily and condominium sectors, providing capital for property owners following strong population trends.

MRC’s past year was highlighted by closing a $630 million construction loan for Gil Dezer’s Bentley-branded condo development in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. The deal, which closed in the fall, marked the largest construction loan for a single property for 2025 in South Florida. Josh Zegen said it came together in large part due to his firm’s versatile private credit platform.

“Typically, they are a bank borrower,” Zegen said of Dezer. “But, for a $630 million loan, that takes a lot of banks to cobble together to do that deal. So we were able to do a whole loan, which was attractive to that borrower. They didn’t want to deal with a big bank syndicate, and we came highly recommended to Dezer because we did business with a lot of their peers in the market, so the certainty and what we brought to the table was what helped solidify that deal.” 

MRC was also active in the hospitality sector with Madison Newbond, a hospitality lending platform formed in 2021 by MRC and Newbond Holdings. The platform in August provided a $79.3 million loan for  MetLife Investment Management and MDM Group to refinance the JW Marriott Marquis Miami hotel. 

Looking ahead to 2026, Zegen is projecting lending $8 billion to $10 billion. He says South Florida once again will account for a big slice of the volume as the region continues to grow with further demand for condos and rental apartments amid a rising population. 

“We see the market continuing to be very strong from some of the Blue State noise that’s going on in other places, whether it be California or New York,” Zegen said. “We’re seeing a combination of South American buyers, domestic buyers, and people moving from other parts of the country or getting second residences.”