Constructing New Possibilities
GBT Realty | Brentwood, Tennessee
Since 1987, GBT Realty Corporation link opens in a new window has encountered nearly every type of retail and mixed-use development there is. With more than 30 years of growth and expansion, the company now has more than $1 billion of commercial development completed or underway. “We’re diverse in what we do,” says GBT Realty CFO Geren Moor. “Our mission is to execute our work well, no matter what the project is.”
GBT Realty found a banking partner to help facilitate that strategic vision in Commerce Bank. “I knew of Commerce Bank even before we first met personally,” Geren shares. “Commerce Bank has a good reputation.” Shortly after meeting Commerce Bank’s new market leader in the summer of 2018, GBT began its relationship with Commerce by partnering on an ideally located project near St. Louis, MO.
“After we closed our construction loan link opens to a Commerce page through Commerce Bank, development commenced in March 2020,” continues Geren. The project is now underway to become the Shoppes at Richland Creek, a 53,000-square foot, necessity-based retail center, featuring quick service restaurants, retail and other amenities.
While the deal closed just prior to the escalation of COVID-19, Commerce’s willingness to collaborate with GBT enabled construction to continue. Even amid the economic uncertainty associated with the pandemic, all tenants that were pre-leased are still able and eager to take occupancy once construction is complete.
“It speaks a lot to the type of relationship we have in place that we've completed this financing so quickly,” Geren says. “The Commerce team was able to determine what could be done to help accommodate any pauses with COVID-19 while we figured out what this would mean for our pre-leased tenants.”
Considering the frequently changing conditions relating to COVID-19, GBT Realty found a reliable partner in Commerce Bank. “I can't speak enough about how professional and knowledgeable the whole team at Commerce Bank was to get through the process,” Geren adds.
GBT Realty’s Shoppes at Richland Creek is set to be complete by Summer 2021. “The value is in the relationship with Commerce Bank,” Geren notes. “It’s been truly important to have that kind of help in our mission to provide excellence.”
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