$845K Acquisition Bridge: North Park Multifamily Development Site
San Diego, CA — An experienced local developer lined up a North Park parcel zoned for higher-density multifamily, with plans to replace a deteriorated 1920s-era 5-unit property with a 50-unit apartment development. Helvetica provided an $845,000 first-mortgage purchase bridge so the acquisition could close while the construction financing came together.
The Problem
The site sat in one of San Diego's highest-demand rental submarkets — walkable to restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques, with quick access to Downtown via Interstate 8 and Interstate 805 — but the existing improvements were a deteriorated 5-unit residential property built in the 1920s–30s, vacant and unstabilized. With no income to underwrite and a teardown ahead, conventional lenders weren't a fit for the acquisition timeline.
The Helvetica Solution
Helvetica funded an $845,000 senior first-mortgage purchase bridge on an 18-month interest-only term — 66% loan-to-value against the $1,280,000 market value. The borrower, an experienced real estate developer with three other sponsored projects in the immediate area, gains the time to demolish the existing structures and entitle the 50-unit development while construction financing is arranged.
Benefit to the Borrower
- Closed the land acquisition without waiting on construction financing
- 18-month interest-only term matched to the entitlement and permitting runway
- Financing against a vacant, unstabilized property banks wouldn't underwrite
- Clear exit: a construction loan refinances the bridge within the term
Deal Highlights
- $845,000 first-mortgage purchase bridge loan
- 66% LTV against a $1,280,000 market value
- 18-month interest-only term
- Roughly 10,500 SF parcel zoned for higher-density multifamily
- Planned 50-unit apartment development in a Federal Opportunity Zone
- Exit: refinance into a construction loan within 18 months
Assembling a development site?
Helvetica funds land acquisition and predevelopment bridge loans from $300K–$10M+ with closings typically 3–10 days following receipt of all requested documentation.
