$163M in Financing for FBI Building

May 6, 2011

There is nothing like a government build-to-suit to catch lenders' attention, and the new Kapolei, Hawaii, office complex has done just that.

May 5, 2011
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

There is nothing like a government build-to-suit to catch lenders’ attention, and a new office complex for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kapolei, Hawaii, has done just that, with Newmark Realty Capital Inc. handily arranging a total of $163 million in financing for the 155,000-square-foot project.

The U.S. General Services Administration awarded the build-to-suit lease contract for the office development to Penrose/Walsh in October 2010. The government will occupy the facility, which will be located at the intersection of Barrette Rd. and Roosevelt Ave., under a 20-year lease agreement.

The funding package consists of an $83 million construction loan and $80 million in permanent financing. “Our investor is very focused on providing financing for these facilities,” Mark Ritchie, principal with Newmark, told CPE. “The combination of a U.S. government tenant with the strength and expertise of the sponsorship gave our lender comfort in providing financing for this project.”

Newmark is an old hand at facilitating funding for such government developments, which have grown in number over the last 15 years. Following the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995, the government began to take a closer look at federal facilities and noted that many of them were not built to sufficient security standards. The FBI’s new home in Kapolei will meet the Level 4 Interagency Security Committee criteria. Additionally, in adherence to the government’s sustainability guidelines for new government developments, the building will qualify for LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“We have financed well over half a billion in these projects using this hybrid construction/permanent loan facility program,” Ritchie said. In November 2010, Newmark orchestrated $527 million in construction and permanent financing for an 880,000-square-foot, four-building office and industrial portfolio leased by the U.S. government.