BofI Federal Bank, a subsidiary of BofI Holding, closed on a $22.5 million bridge loan with 7 West 44th St. Realty in connection with Realty’s acquisition of the Paragon Building, a 16-story, 65,000-square-foot office building located in Midtown Manhattan.

“BofI Federal Bank has identified an uptick in acquisition and predevelopment activity in the commercial real estate sector. While various institutions are returning to construction lending, we have identified a need for acquisition and pre-development bridge financing of commercial real estate projects in the pre-construction or re-positioning phase, preceding the availability or suitability for permanent financing” stated Raj Mulchandani, AVP of Commercial and Industrial Lending at BofI Federal Bank. “We believe our reliable and responsive service enables us to successfully meet the needs of developers with commercial real estate projects in this phase, where we see significant loan demand throughout the US.”