WC Smith Refis DC Luxury Property With $106M Loan

A prominent Washington, D.C., landlord made headlines again, this time for refinancing a luxury multifamily property in the nation’s capital.

WC Smith landed a $106.3 million loan for Agora, the Commercial Observer reported. The 11-story, 334-unit building is at 800 New Jersey Avenue SE in the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood, not far from Nationals Park and the Anacostia River.

Walker & Dunlop originated the 10-year, interest-only Fannie Mae financing, with Walker & Dunlop’s Connor Locke and Brendan Coleman arranging the refinancing.

Agora is part of The Collective, a three-phase multifamily complex comprising more than 1,100 units. Agora represented the middle phase of the development, completed in 2018.

The building has units from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Monthly rents range from $2,000 to $5,495, according to Apartments.com. Amenities include an infinity pool, massage rooms and golf simulator; renters also have the option of living on a pet-free floor.

Earlier this month, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb reached a settlement with WC Smith, which owns more than 9,000 multifamily units in the metropolitan area, over the use of rent-setting software. The landlord, per the A.G., used RealPage revenue management software to set rent at its buildings, allegedly coordinating with other landlords to share non-public data.

Under the settlement, WC Smith will pay more than $1 million in civil penalties and money for impacted tenants. It is also barred from using revenue management software that relies on private data from other companies.

Walker & Dunlop originated roughly $25 billion in debt financing last year. The firm puts a particular emphasis on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac financing, worth keeping in mind as the government-sponsored enterprises embark on a possible path towards privatization.

In April, Walker & Dunlop arranged a $237.5 million loan, originated by Hudson Bay Capital, to Biddle Real Estate Ventures, King Street Capital and PCD Development to refinance the 70-acre mixed-use development Edge-on-Hudson and a luxury 100-unit condo building within the development in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

— Holden Walter-Warner