Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
Walker & Dunlop arranged $86.5 million in bridge financing for Capital Square Chasen apartment development in Richmond, Virginia. The loan finances a 352-unit multifamily property.
Capital Square has obtained $86.5 million in bridge financing for Chasen, a recently completed 352-unit apartment development in Richmond, Virginia, as the owner moves the property through its early operating period.
Walker & Dunlop confirmed the financing in an October 8 deal notice. Its capital markets team arranged a variable-rate, interest-only loan from an unidentified private credit lender. The lender’s identity, interest rate, maturity and leverage metrics were not disclosed.
The apartments sit in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood, a former industrial district that has attracted new residential and mixed-use development. Chasen was delivered in phases between late 2025 and early 2026, according to transaction information released by the financing team. The project includes more than 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.
Bridge debt is often used after construction when a property needs more time to build occupancy and a record of operating income before permanent financing. The interest-only structure can limit scheduled principal payments during that period, but a floating rate also leaves the borrower exposed to changes in its benchmark and credit spread. The actual cost of this loan cannot be calculated without its pricing terms.
Dividing the announced loan by 352 apartments yields approximately $246,000 in debt per unit. That is a simple financing ratio, not a measure of property value, borrower equity or the rent required to support the loan. Neither the property’s appraised value nor its current occupancy was disclosed.
The development is in a designated Qualified Opportunity Zone. That designation can have tax implications for eligible investments, but it does not by itself make the mortgage tax-advantaged or assure that investors will receive any particular benefit. The financing announcement did not specify how opportunity-zone rules apply to the borrower or investors.
Walker & Dunlop identified Alexandra Huffman, Justin Nelson, Andrew Tapley, PJ Feichtmeier, Eric Norris and Jared Diedrich as members of the arranging team. Capital Square is the borrower. The transaction is a completed financing arrangement, rather than an announced construction start or a commitment to future funding.
For commercial mortgage lenders, the deal illustrates the role of private credit in the period between apartment delivery and stabilization. For the property owner, the outstanding questions are the building’s lease-up pace, the loan’s maturity and the terms of any permanent refinancing. None can be inferred from the headline loan amount.
