Sachem Capital Corp., a real estate finance company headquartered in Branford, announced this week it has acquired real estate firm Urbane New Haven LLC.
Urbane is based in New Haven and has 11 employees. The firm is involved in all phases of real estate development and construction, including architecture, design, contracting and marketing.
For the past two decades, Urbane has developed and overseen hundreds of real estate projects around the country.
The purchase price for the Urbane assets was 300,000 of Sachem’s common shares, according to an announcement. The deal was finalized Oct. 6.
Sachem’s stock on Oct. 6 closed at 3.58 per share, according to the New York Stock Exchange.
Sachem CEO John Villano said the Urbane team will oversee Sachem’s construction finance business, which he said has grown significantly in recent years.
“Having Urbane in-house provides Sachem with go-to construction expertise, which should enable us to take on larger and more profitable construction loans, as well as further vertically integrate our lending platform,” Villano said, in a press release.
The two companies already had a long-standing working relationship. Urbane has helped Sachem manage complex real estate development and construction projects that Sachem has provided financing for along the East Coast, according to Villano.
As part of the transaction, Sachem has hired Eric O’Brien, president, founder and an owner of Urbane, as its new senior vice president, asset management. In this role, O’Brien will handle oversight of construction management and real estate development.
O’Brien said Urbane is excited to combine its capabilities with Sachem.
“We have enjoyed a productive relationship with Sachem and look forward to growing together given our combined expertise,” O’Brien said. “Given the current market conditions, we feel we can take advantage of underperforming assets and convert them to meaningful profits for Sachem.”
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.
