$2.6M Bridge Loan: Newly Built Drive-Thru NNN Retail
Chula Vista, CA — A developer completed a build-to-suit drive-thru coffee store on a brand-new corporate 10-year net lease, then faced a maturing construction loan in a rising-rate market. Helvetica kept the first mortgage in place at 65% LTV so the borrower could hold the asset rather than sell into a soft pricing window.
The Borrower's Problem
The borrower — a high-net-worth developer holding title through a single-asset LLC — had negotiated a build-to-suit for a national investment-grade coffee retailer, built the store, and delivered it on a brand-new 10-year corporate net lease with no early termination, four five-year extension options, and 10% rent increases every five years. The store opened in September 2023 at $199,000 of annual NNN rent.
The asset performed exactly as planned; the financing did not keep up. The construction facility was approaching maturity, cap rates had widened with rates, and the property's best pricing was clearly ahead of it rather than behind it. Selling immediately or accepting a rushed refinance would have handed away the value the borrower had just created.
The Helvetica Solution
Helvetica kept the $2,600,000 first mortgage in place at 65% of the $4,000,000 stabilized value — supported by the in-place NNN rent capitalized at 5% — and structured it interest-only over a 10-month term. Underwriting focused on the completed building, the corporate lease, strong debt coverage, and a documented exit rather than a bank's construction-to-permanent checklist.
That gave the borrower a defined runway with two clean exits: hold and sell into a better cap-rate environment (the property had been marketed at $5,200,000), or season the lease and refinance into conventional long-term debt.
Benefit to the Borrower
- Maturing construction debt resolved without a default or forced sale
- Ownership of a newly stabilized, corporate-leased NNN asset retained
- Interest-only payments fully covered by in-place NNN rent
- Runway to sell into a stronger cap-rate market instead of a soft one
- Roughly $1.4M of equity preserved at 65% LTV
- Optionality kept: sale or conventional refinance, on the borrower's timing
Deal Highlights
- Build-to-suit construction takeout on a completed store
- New 10-year corporate investment-grade net lease, no early termination
- High-traffic corner with 103,800 residents within two miles
- 1,129 SF building on a 62,726 SF lot
- Interest-only structure with sale-or-refinance exit
Need time before you sell or refinance?
Helvetica funds bridge and construction takeout loans from $300K–$10M+ on investment and business-purpose real estate, typically closing in 3–10 days following receipt of all requested documentation.
