Seminole Financial Services

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Continues to Grow Renewable Energy Financing Business – Tops over $100 Million Renewable Energy Transactions in 2011

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:12:42 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – January 26, 2012 –

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (“Seminole”) capped off a very active year by closing on 13.25MW of Renewable Energy financing projects during the final month of 2011. The three wind and one solar installations represent over $32 million in construction financing. In 2011, Seminole closed $88 million of construction loans and another $25 million of permanent loans, for a total of $113 million of Renewable Energy lending. Seminole has closed nearly $150 million in construction financing and permanent debt financing for solar and wind transactions since 2009.

Seminole’s focus is on wind and solar transactions between $2 million and $30 million for a term of 12 months or less. Seminole’s first project, which closed in December 2009, was funding the Coastal Community Action Program (“CCAP”) in Grayland, Washington. The 6MW, four turbine project provides electricity for the local utility and generates income for CCAP, a non-profit social services agency that administers many programs for low income families in the Grayland region.

Seminole’s portfolio includes construction finance of one of the largest rooftop installations in the State of Florida, a 2.2MW solar project at the Butler Plaza in Gainesville. Seminole has also completed loans for projects as small as 500kW, including a rooftop solar installation in Hamilton Twp., New Jersey. In 2011, Seminole began a pilot permanent financing program for select projects while also making a commitment to tax equity syndication in 2012 as part of an initiative to become a “one stop” source for all aspects of capital needs for Renewable Energy transactions.

Seminole’s Commercial Real Estate arm also experienced an exceptional year – committing nearly $75 million in debt and equity financing over the past 12 months.

For more information about Seminole Financial Services’ renewable energy financing, please contact Chris Diaz, Senior Vice President, at (727) 460-0578. For all other financing inquiries with Seminole Financial Services, please contact Ron Campbell, Executive Vice President, at (727) 331-8441.

About Seminole Financial Services

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (SFS) is the operating entity for the six companies that collectively make up the Seminole Companies (Seminole). SFS is responsible for originating, underwriting, servicing and providing asset management for the debt and equity investments originated for institutional investors managed by sister company, Seminole Advisory Services, LLC (SAS). SAS is a registered investment advisor with the SEC and presently has several hundred million dollars in assets under management. SFS provides debt and equity investments for commercial real estate and renewable energy transactions nationwide, specializing in short and intermediate term investments.
www.seminolefinancialservices.com

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Financing For 4.5MW Wind Project in Cabazon, California

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:04:21 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – December 19, 2011 –

Seminole Financial Services (“Seminole”) announced today closing of $19.5 million of construction loans for three separate wind projects in California with Foundation Windpower, LLC. The three projects – a one, two, and three turbine installation, respectively – have a combined capacity of 7.5MW, with an annual energy output of approximately 30,000,000kWh. All of the power will be used to offset energy costs and will provide clean energy for the production facilities at each location. Consistent with Seminole’s philosophy of being a relationship lender, these will be the fifth, sixth, and seventh projects developed by Foundation Windpower, which have been financed by Seminole. Each system is planned to be operational by late spring December, 2012.

For more information about this installation or renewable energy financing, please contact Chris Diaz, Senior Vice President for Seminole Financial Services, at 727-460-0578 or at
cdiaz@seminolefinancialservices.com.

About Seminole Financial Services

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (SFS) is one of four companies that collectively make up the Seminole Companies (Seminole). SFS is responsible for originating, underwriting, servicing and providing asset management for the debt and equity investments originated for institutional investors managed by sister company, Seminole Advisory Services, LLC (SAS). SAS is a registered investment advisor with the SEC and presently has several hundred million dollars in assets under management. Seminole provides debt and equity investments for commercial real estate and renewable energy transactions nationwide, specializing in short and intermediate term investments.
www.seminolefinancialservices.com

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Financing For 4.5MW Wind Project in Madison, California

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:45:40 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – December 19, 2011 –

About Seminole Financial Services

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Financing For Redevelopment in Naperville, Illinois

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:21:56 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – December 19, 2011 –

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (“Seminole”) announced today the funding of a $5.0 million bridge loan on a 2.4-acre redevelopment site in Naperville, Illinois.

Seminole’s loan will enable the borrower, The Marquette Companies, to continue moving toward its goal of security construction financing for redeveloping the site as a mixed-use development consisting of luxury apartments, retail, hotel and office space known as the Water Street District.

About Seminole Financial Services

About The Marquette Companies

The Marquette Companies is a private real estate development company focused on redeveloping and managing underperforming assets nationwide and is headquartered 45 miles northwest of Chicago in South Elgin, Illinois.

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Financing For Student Housing at Kent State University

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:31:39 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – December 15, 2011 –

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (“Seminole”) announced today the closing of a $5-million investment to purchase and renovate a 280-unit (520 beds), multi-family project adjacent to the campus of Kent State University (“KSU”) known as Silver Oaks Apartments in Kent, Ohio.

Seminole’s investment will enable Capstone Development Corporation (“Capstone”) to renovate the facility, originally constructed in the mid-1960s and previously operated as a 55 and older community for the past three decades. Capstone believes Silver Oak’s location, adjacent to the University, and apartment-style design will be an attractive alternative for KSU upperclassmen and graduate students. Renovations are expected to begin immediately with completion by early August 2012, in time for the Fall 2012 semester at KSU.

Capstone is an award-winning leader in the development of student housing. Capstone has developed housing for over 35,000 students on 57 campuses nationwide.

For information about this and other financing, please contact Ron Campbell, Executive Vice President for Seminole Financial Services, at (727) 331-8441 or at
rcampbell@seminolefinancialservices.com

About Seminole Financial Services

About Capstone Development Corporation

Capstone Development Corp. is one of the various companies comprising “The Capstone Companies.” Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and now in its 21st year of business, Capstone Development Corp. is the nation’s most active development partner with colleges and universities, having been selected to partner with 61 institutions to develop 38,500 beds on campus/campus affiliated housing. Capstone Development Corp.’s total on and off campus housing experience reflects over $3.0 billion in project costs/value, and 61,919 beds.
www.capstonecompanies.com

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Southern Sky Renewable Energy Construction and Permanent Financing for a 5.75MW Solar Project in Canton, Massachusetts

admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:13:47 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – December 1, 2011 –

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (“Seminole”) announced today the funding of an $18 million construction loan to Southern Sky Renewable Energy, LLC (“Southern Sky”) to install a 5.75MW photovoltaic ground-mounted solar panel installation in Canton, Massachusetts. The installation will utilize approximately 15 acres of the 40-acre closed municipal landfill in Canton, MA. Southern Sky will build, own and operate the solar system, which will sell all of the power produced to the local utility system.

The landfill, which has been decommissioned for over 25 years, presents a unique opportunity for a solar system of this size. Once construction is completed – by mid to late 2012 – Seminole will also provide a $12 million permanent loan to the project. The total project costs for this transaction are approximately $30 million.

Southern Sky has the goal of becoming the premier developer of solar photovoltaic-generating facilities in the eastern United States. Its target market includes public facilities such as landfills and other municipally owned real estate, as well as “Greenfield” and “Brownfield” private properties.

Southern Sky managing director Ralph Palumbo stated, “This project will take non-performing municipal real estate and convert it into an asset for the Town of Canton. Once completed, the solar panel installation will generate direct revenue and a reduction in town energy bills over the next twenty plus years.”

It is believed that when completed, the Canton project will be the largest solar photovoltaic facility in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and New England. “When we announced the project in 2010, we knew we had a great opportunity. We are pleased that we have been able to assemble so many first-class partners to make this a reality,” added Frank McMahon, managing director at Southern Sky. “Most importantly, we want to commend Seminole Financial for their guidance, experience, and investment of capital. Partnership with Seminole Financial will make this project a reality for the Town of Canton and for Southern Sky.”

“We have enjoyed working with Southern Sky and are extremely excited about this project. It is a win-win for everyone involved, including the Canton community. Taking a decommissioned landfill and turning it into a revenue-producing solar farm is a great use of resources in the area,” said Chris Diaz, Senior Vice President for Seminole Financial Services.

About Seminole Financial Services

About Southern Sky Renewable Energy

Southern Sky Renewable Energy (SSRE) is a Boston-based developer of utility scale solar photovoltaic projects. For more information about Southern Sky Renewable Energy, LLC please contact Frank McMahon at (401) 487-7740 or fmcmahon@southernskyrenewable.com.

www.southernskyrenewable.com

Community Wind Projects May Benefit From Creative Financing Methods

admin — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:49:32 +0000

At a time when traditional financing is difficult to attract – especially for riskier projects – developers are forced to think outside of the norm to obtain project financing. One strategy implemented in select renewable energy transactions over the past few years has been to fold New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) into the financing stack. Introducing NMTCs to a transaction may account for approximately 20% of the capital structure. This additional capital could be the distinguishing factor between a project being financially viable and a project not achieving a financial closing.

Although the NMTCs are a useful tool in financing a project, the necessary structure can be quite complex, and the ongoing compliance may influence the project owner’s or operator’s decision-making and behavior during the seven years following the financial closing.

Generally, in order to use a tax credit, a taxpayer is required to be the owner or lessee of the tax-credit-generating asset. One unique aspect of the NMTC program is that the credit-generating asset is not the energy facility or other piece of property for which the credit-generating investment will be used. Instead, the credit-generating asset is an investment in an investor or lender – not just any investor or lender, but rather a community development entity (CDE).

Because the developer does not have to share in the control or the ownership of the project in order to participate in a NMTC transaction, the NMTC has become an interesting source of additional financing for projects located in areas of the country that qualify for NMTC investing.

The NMTC was codified in 2000 as Section 45D of the Internal Revenue Code and is administered through the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). The general purpose of the NMTC program is to encourage investment in poorer communities throughout the U.S. The NMTC is awarded pursuant to a competitive application process in accordance with certain annual caps.

The NMTC is a 39% tax credit that is claimed over six years and one day with respect to a qualified equity investment (QEI) in a CDE. In general, assuming no event of recapture has occurred, on the date the QEI is made and on each of the first two anniversaries of such date, the holder of the QEI on each such anniversary date is entitled to claim a tax credit equal to 5% of the QEI amount, and on each of the subsequent four anniversaries of such QEI date, the holder of the QEI on each such anniversary date is entitled to claim a tax credit equal to 6% of the QEI amount.

The CDEs are able to make below-market loans/investments, because the NMTC investor is earning a substantial part of its return from the tax credits it is claiming on its QEI. For example, in a situation where an investor makes a QEI of $10 million, it will claim $3.9 million in tax credits over seven years. As a result, it does not need to earn a market rate of return on its $10 million investment in the CDE and is willing to permit the CDE to be more flexible with its investment.

A majority of the QEIs are leveraged, where the tax credit investor will make, for example, a $10 million QEI that comprises $3 million equity and $7 million debt. The tax credit investor will still be able to claim $3.9 million of tax credits, because the QEI is $10 million. As a result, the tax credit investor is not nearly as concerned about the strength of the CDE’s investment as it would be if it were contributing $10 million of equity.

In this leveraged structure, the QEI debt provider is very concerned with the CDE’s investment, however, as its $7 million loan is generally secured only by the investor’s interest in the CDE.

As a result, the CDE is required to loan or invest the $10 million to a special, qualifying business (QALICB) on terms sufficient to permit the CDE to earn and distribute to the tax credit investor income sufficient to pay the requisite debt service on the QEI debt. In most transactions, the CDE will structure its loan/investment to the QALICB such that the CDE will earn enough money annually to pay its operating expenses, including asset management fees and tax and audit expenses, and to make distributions to the tax credit investor for its debt service.

Using the above example, assume the QEI debt costs $490,000 (7%) annually, and the CDE’s operating expenses are $80,000 annually. Also assume that the CDE only invested $9.5 million of the QEI into the QALICB. The result is that the QALICB borrows $9.5 million and will be charged $570,000 annually, which represents an interest rate of 6%.

In addition to this savings of 1% annually, the QALICB typically will enjoy the benefits of paying interest only for the first seven years of the loan term and the ability to borrow other money senior to all or a portion of the CDE’s loan.

However, the NMTC is not applicable in all cases, as its structure has a few areas of concern that developers should be aware of as they decide whether the NMTC can help a project get financed.

Failure to address the details of the structure of a NMTC transaction early on can cause significant delays in achieving a financial closing, as well as result in increased legal and accounting fees. In fact, the consequences of failing to set aside time and resources for structuring a NMTC transaction could be the loss of one or both incentives.

These complex structures can be quite costly, so it is critical that developers account for these additional costs their your initial budget.

Not all areas of the country that qualify for NMTC financing have CDEs dedicated to investing in such areas. In addition to finding a CDE with NMTC allocation authority capable of being used to finance projects in a selected area, developers also need to find both an investor and leverage lender who understand the NMTC program and want to purchase the credits.

For more information about this installation or renewable energy financing, please contact Chris Diaz, Senior Vice President for Seminole Financial Services at 727-460-0578 or at
cdiaz@seminolefinancialservices.com.

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Financing For a 2MW Wind Project in Tracy, California

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:58:45 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – October 29, 2011 –

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (SFS) announced today the closing of a $5.1 million loan to fund the construction and installation of a 2MW wind project with an annual energy output of approximately 3,600,000kWh. The project consists of the construction of two wind turbines that will be placed in service on the property of the end user in Tracy, California. All of the power generated by the turbines will be used to offset in-house energy usage. The system is planned to be operational by June, 2012.

About Seminole Financial Services

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Debt Financing For Multifamily Housing in Galveston, Texas

admin — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:06:27 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – October 21, 2011 –

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (“Seminole”) announced today the closing of a $16.8 million interim debt investment in a 253-unit multi-family apartment community in the Galveston, Texas area.

The interim loan allows The Marquette Companies to meet current debt obligations and to provide time to negotiate agency debt on the project that is performing well and currently 94% occupied. The project is situated just 400 feet from the Gulf of Mexico on 15.64 acres of Galveston Island. Marquette is a privately held company focused on purchasing, redeveloping and managing real estate assets nationwide and is headquartered 45 miles northwest of Chicago in South Elgin, Illinois.

For information about this and other financing, please contact Ron Campbell, Executive Vice President for Seminole Financial Services, at (727) 331-8441 or at
rcampbell@seminolefinancialservices.com.

About Seminole Financial Services

About The Marquette Companies

The Marquette Companies are a group of private real estate development companies focused on redeveloping and managing underperforming assets nationwide. Marquette is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

Seminole Financial Services, LLC Provides Financing For Student Housing at East Lansing, Michigan

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:41:19 +0000

Belleair Bluffs, FL – September 27, 2011 –

Seminole Financial Services, LLC (“Seminole”) announced today the repayment of an $8.5 million investment in a 220-unit, 683-bed student housing development in the East Lansing, Michigan area.

Seminole’s investment, made in July, 2010, helped enable Capstone Development Corporation (“Capstone”) of Birmingham, AL to construct a student housing facility, The Lodges of East Lansing, approximately one-half mile from the eastern most border of Michigan State University. The development opened for the fall semester in August and became home to 683 students, representing 99.9 % lease occupancy by the time classes started for the current semester.

Capstone is an award-winning leader in the development of student housing throughout the country. The Michigan State project was one of nine new or newly renovated Capstone-developed housing communities that opened to students this fall.

For information about this and other financing, please contact Ron Campbell, Executive Vice President for Seminole Financial Services, at (727) 331-8441 or at
rcampbell@seminolefinancialservices.com.