Kevin Wolfer, CEO of Kennedy Funding
By Joshua Burd
Kennedy Funding has closed a $1.45 million loan for a developer near an oil-rich region at the border of North Dakota and Montana.
The direct private lender, based in Englewood Cliffs, announced this week that it is providing its second loan to American Land Development-Sidney 2 LLC. The borrower will use the loan to refinance an existing first mortgage loan on a property near what’s known as the Bakken Formation.
“A repeat customer is the highest compliment a client can give us,” said Kevin Wolfer, CEO of Kennedy Funding. “We are happy to support American Land Development as they continue their development efforts in the Bakken.”
The company, an affiliate of the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based American Land Development Corp., received a loan from Kennedy Funding in 2015 to finance infrastructure improvements to a 22.59-acre development site along East Holly Street in Sidney, Montana. The property is zoned for mixed-use and is just 10 miles from the North Dakota border.
“We have worked with a lot of lenders in the past, and Kennedy Funding and (CEO) Kevin Wolfer are delightful to work with,” said Thomas F. Flatley, owner of American Land Development-Sidney 2. “They are prompt, fair, reliable and close loans as promised. It was no question that we would use them again when it came time to refinance the first loan.”
American Land Development acquired the property in 2013, when it was a sugar beet farm with no access to city water, sewer or other services, Kennedy said in a news release. The firm has since put significant work into the site with the assistance of Kennedy’s first loan, subdividing it into 18 residential and commercial lots.
“We were impressed by American Land Development’s clear vision for this property from the beginning,” said Wolfer, adding that the firm has closed several loans in the Bakken region. “We were happy to support their vision to bring more housing and commercial development to an area poised for growth in a resource-rich region of the U.S.”
Flatley said that a rebound in oil prices, coupled with planned oil pipeline construction projects in the region, have increased the demand for residential and commercial properties there.
“Sidney is an attractive area for executives because it’s more of a community and offers a pleasant way of life for them and their families,” he said. “With a 2,000-mile pipeline in the works that will start in Sidney, the area will be incredibly attractive for commercial tenants. We are excited about the future, and Kennedy is helping us get there with our second loan.”
