Refi Talks On The Campus At Legacy West Remain Fruitful Amid COVID-19 Crisis, Sam Ware Says

Dreien Opportunity Partners' Sam Ware bought himself enough time in February to avoid foreclosure on a $388M Beal Bank loan tied to the Campus at Legacy West, a Plano development in the heart of Legacy Business Park. 

At the time, a notice of foreclosure sale was pending against the former JCPenney headquarters campus, threatening to interrupt Ware's extensive mixed-use plans for the site.

But the court halted the foreclosure sale, allowing Ware enough time to pursue cheaper refinancing options. 

With COVID-19 now derailing commercial real estate and banks for at least a month, if not more, Ware remains confident he'll obtain the financing he needs. 

In fact, Ware believes his other firm, Silo Harvesting Partners, has the opportunity to obtain new debt for the Campus at Legacy West at lower, more affordable interest rates.  

"We are working on a refi, and it is going well in spite of this blip in the economy," he said. "Real estate is a safe haven; you haven't seen trillions of dollars of equity vaporize [over the years], as it has in many other market sectors and industries." 

As for the risk of not being able to access new financing at all, Ware doesn't see the coronavirus impacting his ability to find other lenders or stave off foreclosure.

"This has not stopped anything," he said. "Capital knows it's over in 60 days, the markets will rebound by the end of the summer, and there will be opportunities," he said.  

Ware, who previously told Bisnow he is trapped paying 9% to 10% interest on the $388M Beal Bank loan, now has the benefit of trying to refinance when the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate is hovering near zero. 

"Cheaper money floats lots of boats," he said.