Capital One announced that it has provided a $68 million five-year, adjustable-rate, interest-only working capital/term loan to Brandywine Investment Group II, an affiliate of Delle Donne & Associates, to finance the development and repositioning of a portion of the former AstraZeneca North Campus in Wilmington, Delaware. Jeff Wallace, a Senior Vice President in Capital One’s Commercial Real Estate Group, originated the transaction.

“Delle Donne has taken a careful, methodical approach to developing Avenue North, which will include some exciting things in the future,” Wallace said. “As a result of this thoughtful approach they have attracted some of the premiere companies in the region to join them as tenants.”
  
The loan funds the second phase of a project that began when Brandywine Investment Group I, with financing from Capital One, acquired the property from AstraZeneca in June 2017 in a sale lease-back transaction. At the end of 2018, Delle Donne signed additional leases with Christiana Care and Solenis for the two office buildings previously occupied by AstraZeneca.

Christiana Care is one of the largest private employers in the region and is ranked the third-largest hospital system in the Philadelphia metro area. It took occupancy of its 386,000-square-foot building in March 2019. Solenis, which recently merged with portions of BASF, will take occupancy of a 110,000-square-foot building on the property in January 2020.

The new loan will be used to fund construction of a 1,373-space parking garage and pay for tenant improvements and leasing commissions. It will also provide working capital to begin development of excess land on the property. Plans currently call for Delle Donne to build approximately 350 apartments, 150,000 square feet of retail space, 100,000 feet of office space and a 200-room full service hotel.

“Capital One has worked closely with us at each stage of this multi-year project,” said Ernest Delle Donne, the company’s Chairman. “The team’s ability to structure a series of loans that support our strategy and the certainty of execution they provide have kept us on track.”

Delle Donne and Associates is one of the largest developers in Delaware and has been a leader in the growth and development of downtown Wilmington and surrounding New Castle County. Its relationship with Capital One goes back to 2009.

Capital One Bank’s Commercial Real Estate Group offers a comprehensive array of financing solutions for property owners and developers nationwide, including balance sheet and agency lending.