Cross River, Bridgeton Capital partner for tech-driven commercial real estate lending platform

Fort Lee-based Cross River Bank‘s Commercial Real Estate team on Monday said it partnered with Bridgeton Capital in a program that will provide borrowers and sellers with affordable credit opportunities on a wider geographical footprint.

Through an end-to-end CRE marketplace for the sourcing, originating and risk allocating of CRE loans nationwide, Cross River will utilize its technology infrastructure, regulatory expertise and strong focus on consumer protection, and combine it with Bridgeton’s artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities.

The two said this is the first step toward alleviating longstanding inefficiencies in the CRE value chain.

Both companies will invest capital, with a focus on offering 12-to-24-month interest-only bridge financing on multifamily and commercial properties nationwide of between $5-$50 million.

“Cross River and Bridgeton’s combined, closed-loop CRE marketplace is unprecedented. Leveraging Bridgeton’s expertise and origination network will empower us to reach borrowers on a national scale, not only in primary lending markets, but also secondary and tertiary markets, and is opening the door to help provide more affordable housing and finance options nationwide in addition to the local businesses serving those markets,” Shimon Eisikowicz, executive vice president and chief lending officer at Cross River, said. “This is an opportunity to combine Cross River’s fintech DNA with our robust portfolio of CRE offerings and will ultimately pave the way for both Cross River and the real estate industry with an end-to-end CRE marketplace.”

“We look forward to growing the platform and our offerings with Bridgeton as we provide borrowers with a full suite of CRE services on a national scale,” Josh Gurman, director of CRE underwriting and processing at Cross River, said.