Drever Partners Secures $15,750,000 in Refinancing for Hotel Transformed Into Affordable Multi-Family Community

The development team created strong redevelopment values and impressive life enrichment programs for residents 

BRANSON, Mo., June 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — With workforce apartments desperately needed, Drever Partners announces the closing of a $15.75MM permanent 10 year loan with Franklin Templeton on The Penleigh – Branson Row apartments – formerly a hotel located at 76 Country Blvd. in Branson, Missouri. With Drever Partners’ transformational signature enhancements and life enriching social programs, 325 attractive and energy-efficient micro-apartments were 100% leased in the property’s first nine months. Not only is the multi-family property tracking to generate 10% cash distributions, but the adjoining The Penleigh – Live Oak apartments should enjoy the same strong cash returns for incoming contrarian investors. 

The conservative, commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) closed last month and illustrates the investor demand for environmental, social and governance (ESG) non-financial factors in their investment analysis. The loan was a 60% loan total value (LTV) permanent first loan. This financing refutes that ESG investors will only receive low financial returns. 

“The Drever team has exceeded my forecast and expectations. Their phenomenal leasing of 145 apartments in the first month is testimony to the compounding financial and social benefits generated by providing attractive micro apartments and supportive programs for their workforce residents,” said Jack Poe, M.Sc., MAI, Professor of Real Estate. Poe was one of the third-party analysts hired by Drever Partners to study the feasibility of the adaptive reuse of a broken hotel to workforce housing. 

CoreVest Finance, a leading real estate investment lender and division of Redwood Trust, Inc., provided the original financing and construction loan for the multi-family renovation. CoreVest’s Chief Credit Officer Micaela Lumpkin said, “CoreVest strives to help real estate investors grow and we enjoyed providing our services to help Drever Partners accomplish strong conversions for this property. Their vision for The Penleigh – Branson Row was to deliver a community that is an affordable, safe and welcoming environment for their residents, and they worked diligently to deliver on those goals.”

Drever Partners mission with all investments is to provide affordable apartments in communities with a deep need for workforce housing. They develop or redevelop broken properties that improve the neighborhoods where they are located and offer cost-effective environmental amenities and social programs that enrich the lives of their residents. They invest at a low cost for strong financial returns that are risk averse. 

“Galen Drever and his team purchased a hotel in a prime location along the Branson Strip and transformed it into beautiful, affordable workforce housing which is extremely important for the success of our tourism industry,” said Karen Best, civic leader and former Branson former mayor. “The additional social piece to their housing project helps to fill a need for assistance to our workers who support the 10 million visitors each year to Branson. After-school tutoring, meal assistance and many other programs through The Penleigh help lighten the load for its residents. This is a model that can be replicated from community to community.” 

The expanding Branson economy and constrained housing were factors that led Drever Partners to invest in two adaptive reuse projects in the market. Rental vacancy rates in the area were approximately 1% for both studio and one-bedroom units, which is most of the supply at both of their investment properties. 

“Thanks to The Penleigh – Branson Row’s incredible performance, new investors have an opportunity to experience repeated success in our second Branson property,” said Galen Drever, Managing Director with Drever Partners. “The Penleigh – Live Oak, is well positioned as an investment opportunity with the potential to generate 10% cash distributions.”

The second property Drever Partners is now raising capital for is The Penleigh – Live Oak, formerly a 143-key Hall of Fame Motel converting to 138 micro apartments. Originally built in 1990, the property adjoins The Penleigh – Branson Row and is being fully transformed into a jewel in the neighborhood. Drever Partners will continue to provide cost-effective rehabilitation of ‘broken’ hotels into minimalist, affordable apartments for hard-working residents of Branson.

“Drever Partners, with five decades of experience, is known for their expertise in enriching residents’ lives with helpful financial incentives, on-site programming that offers social support and attention to property safety,” said Greg Russell, Vice President, Colliers National Multifamily Advisory Group. “Unheard over all my years in the apartment industry, their providing free childcare for single working parents set a high bar that hopefully others will follow.”

For more information, please contact Galen Drever, Managing Director with Drever Partners at [email protected] or 646.717.4245.

Drever Partners:
The Drever team and advisor Maxwell Drever have transformed 47,000+ workforce multifamily units and $3.2 billion in redevelopments primarily in the cusp of seven recessions over five decades in 20 primary markets is noted by some peers and institutional investors for their unparalleled transformation expertise coupled with resident centric and life enriching services.

Media Contact:
Culver Public Relations
Allison Chaney
[email protected]
214.352.5980

SOURCE Drever Partners