CRE Bridge in St. Charles

The county's commercial story runs through two large employers and the interstate corridor between them. The county's two named anchors are GM's Wentzville Assembly plant, which builds the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, and the Express and Savana vans, and Mastercard's technology hub in O'Fallon, described as its largest technology hub in North America and its largest US data center, with more than 4,000 employees. Both sit along the I-70/I-64 logistics corridor that also carries the Highway K commercial band through O'Fallon and Lake Saint Louis. A bridge loan here is more likely to be financing space that serves that supplier, logistics, and commuter-driven demand than a small-multifamily deal, since 2-4 unit residential lending is only about 0.46% of the county's 1-4 family mortgage activity. Bring us the specific asset and we will underwrite it on its own rent roll and tax stack.

Because the deals that need speed are reposition, lease-up, and buyout situations that a bank's timeline does not fit. GM's own $157 million paint-shop modernization and plant expansion in Wentzville, announced July 2026 as an 18-month build, is the kind of anchor investment that pulls supplier and logistics tenants into the market on a schedule a conventional construction-to-perm loan cannot match. A bridge lets an investor acquire, reposition, or stabilize commercial space ahead of that demand and refinance into permanent debt once the asset is leased and stabilized, which we also place in house.

Yes, materially, and this is the single most common underwriting mistake on a St. Charles County commercial deal. Missouri assesses commercial real estate at 32% of market value against 19% for residential, and St. Charles County adds a 0.5300 commercial surtax on top of that under RSMo 139.600. Worked on an O'Fallon parcel, that comes to roughly 2.20% of market value for commercial against roughly 1.21% for residential on the same location, a ratio of about 1.82. A bridge underwritten on a residential tax assumption will be wrong by nearly half. Confirm the parcel's own commercial rate with the St. Charles County Collector before finalizing carry.

No, and this is worth stating plainly because it is easy to assume otherwise. St. Charles County has adopted RSMo 137.082, which holds an unoccupied new residential building at land-only assessment until occupancy or the fourth January after completion. That relief is residential only. Commercial property is assessed on its January 1 status every year under the standard rule, with no occupancy-based deferral. A ground-up or heavy-reposition commercial bridge should carry the full commercial tax exposure from the start, not the lighter residential timeline.

Missouri forecloses by non-judicial trustee's sale with twenty days' notice, and there is a conditional one-year redemption right to watch on the back end. There is no statewide mediation requirement, so a workout can move to sale quickly if it needs to. The counterweight is RSMo 443.410's post-sale redemption right, which applies for one year only where the lender or its nominee buys the property at the sale with a credit bid, the borrower gave written notice before the sale, and the borrower posts a court-approved bond within twenty days. That right is not limited to owner-occupied property or to individual borrowers, so it can attach to an LLC-held commercial asset the lender takes back on a credit bid. Selling to a genuine third-party bidder at the trustee's sale avoids it entirely.

There is no minimum score on this program. We do run credit, but on an asset-based commercial bridge it carries far less weight than at a bank. We underwrite the asset, its stabilization plan, and its exit. Weaker credit is usually handled with lower leverage rather than a decline, and there is no hard credit pull to start. Subject to underwriting.

Bridge capital is for repositioning or stabilizing a commercial property before permanent financing: value-add, lease-up, a partner buyout, or pulling equity out through a cash-out. We lend across property types on terms up to 24 to 36 months, with loans up to $10M.

Our commercial bridge pricing starts around 9%, interest-only, up to roughly 75% loan-to-value, on terms up to 24 to 36 months. Published bridge pricing generally runs 8% to 12% with 1 to 3 points. Final terms depend on the asset, the business plan, and sponsor strength.

Commercial deals usually close in 2 to 4 weeks. They take a little longer than residential because of the appraisal, the rent roll and operating-statement review, and any third-party reports. We move as fast as the diligence allows and keep one point of contact on your file.

Not necessarily at closing. Bridge loans are often underwritten interest-only to the as-stabilized business plan rather than a minimum in-place DSCR, since the property is being repositioned. We do want to see a credible path to stabilization and enough in-place income or reserves to carry the loan.

Typically the purchase contract or current debt, a rent roll and trailing-12-month operating statement, your business plan and renovation budget, and sponsor financials. Larger assets may also need a property condition report and an environmental review. We will give you a clear checklist up front.

Most bridge loans are recourse with a personal guarantee, while lower-leverage non-recourse can be possible on stronger assets. Cash-out is available when there is equity to support it. We structure recourse and leverage around the specific deal.