Firm Bridges Gap between Bankers, Developers

By Peter Corbett
The Arizona Republic
Feb 7, 2008

SCOTTSDALE - Call them what you will - entrepreneurs, mavericks or even cowboys - but developers do not generally speak the same language as the bankers they want to finance their projects.

Knowing that, partners Michael Rudinsky, Joe Dunnigan and Ryan Weissmueller combined their development and capital market expertise last May to start Balance Capital Partners in Scottsdale.

They provide capital structuring and capital acquisition for developers and investors. In the past nine months, the trio has worked with clients developing 13 million square feet of primarily commercial

"We've ramped up very quickly," he added.

Balance Capital's clients include:

• cbd101, a $1.2 billion mixed-use project south of the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. It is being developed by the Bidwill family, owners of the Cardinals.
• Former Phoenix mayor Skip Rimsza, who is developing offices and hangars at Deer Valley Airport.
• Steve Jorgensen, managing partner of J-Bar Cos., which is developing senior living facilities in Arizona.

Commercial slump hits hard

It did not hurt Balance Capital's early success that the Valley's commercial real estate market was chasing the downturn in the residential market.

Nor that the real estate capital markets were tightening their lending practices after years of throwing money at projects without too much concern.

"It's made our services ever more relevant," Rudinsky said.

The market is absorbing new commercial space at a slower pace, which is evident in the Northeast Valley office sector.

"You go along Loop 101 and they call them see-through buildings, because you can literally see through them," Rudinsky said of the nearly vacant office buildings. "But they're building more of them."

Some developers are changing their strategy from selling to leasing space to cope with the market changes, Dunnigan said. It could be well into 2009 before the capital markets improve, Weissmueller said.

Trio combines their expertise

At Balance Capital, Weissmueller focuses on capital structuring and finding financing for clients. The company is a licensed mortgage broker through its subsidiary, Balance Capital Financing.

Previously, Weissmueller co-founded Franchise Capital Advisors in 2005 and he was assistant vice president of structured finance for GE Commercial Finance.

Dunnigan's previous experience includes commercial and residential projects, including restoring historic homes, in downtown Phoenix with his company C. Street Development.

Rudinsky's resume includes financial and accounting duties for Scottsdale-based Cavan Real Estate Investments. He also operated Sky Financial Advisors, which focused on financial modeling and capital structuring.

Both Rudinsky and Dunnigan have development experience, which they say helps them in understanding developers and the risks they take. The current real estate market has developers uneasy, but "we're trying to help our clients sleep well at night," Dunnigan said.

Montelucia villas folks move in

The first residents of the Villas at Montelucia are set to move Friday into their new Paradise Valley home, southeast of Tatum Boulevard and Lincoln Drive. They are Marc and Marlene Rosen, who bought their three-bedroom villa in September 2005. The 34 villas and the 293 rooms at InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa replace La Posada Resort, which was torn down two years ago. Twenty-seven of the $2 million villas have been sold.

Crown Realty & Development, developer of the $260 million project, is scheduled to complete the Montelucia Resort this summer.