Amy Johannes, Ainslee Burns and Katy Mao
Managing Director in Real Estate Group; Vice President in Real Estate; Managing Director in Real Estate Group at Oaktree Capital
Led by an all-female team, Oaktree Capital’s real estate team played an integral role in organizing mezzanine loans and financing redevelopments for a record number of transactions in the Eastern U.S., according to Katy Mao.
Oaktree’s New York office originated around $1 billion in loans in 2021 alone. The portfolio composition includes office, hospitality, multifamily, for-sale residential, life sciences, retail and industrial.
Notable transactions included a $274 million mezzanine loan for the redevelopment of Terminal Warehouse at 261 11th Avenue in Manhattan’s West Chelsea; a mezzanine loan in a $500 million acquisition financing for 111 Wall Street, which also included $90 million of C-PACE funding to reduce the building’s carbon footprint and help the owners comply with New York City’s Local Law 97 environmental regulations; and a redevelopment financing of 125 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side from a former ABC studio into a new life sciences and research facility.
“The main themes that we are watching closely in real estate include an increased focus on public securities given the current volatility in the market, specifically on single-asset, single-borrower deals, as well as an increased emphasis on ESG, particularly in the areas of energy conservation and tenant wellness,” Amy Johannes said. “In New York, lenders and equity investors are spending an increasing amount of time understanding the implications of Local Law 97 for sustainable buildings.”
Since 2019, Oaktree’s real estate team has been very active in the lending space from both the perspective of private origination as well as commercial mortgage-backed securities/public securities, with a focus on gateway cities and out-of-favor sectors like offices, hotels and condominiums.
As of Dec. 31, 2021, Oaktree’s real estate group had $16 billion in assets under management across its opportunistic, debt and income strategies. The team is made up of 54 professionals and the leadership team has an average of 26 years of experience investing in real estate.
In terms of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Oaktree stood out with strong female leadership from Mao, Johannes and Ainslee Burns. Mao leads Oaktree’s real estate debt sourcing efforts across the Eastern U.S., while Johannes is a senior member of the firm’s opportunistic team and sits on the credit committee. Burns, who was previously on the opportunistic team, has now transitioned to the debt team to lead the execution of deals.
Looking ahead, “We’re also seeing more interesting opportunities in retail properties that have outperformed expectations during the pandemic, as well as more activity in the hospitality space for those who take a longer-term view on the ultimate recovery of hotel demand,” Burns said. —E.F.
