CIT Group announced that CIT Real Estate Finance provided a $60 million senior secured credit facility to a joint venture between Rockwood Capital and The Muller Company, two real estate investment firms. Financing was provided by CIT Bank, the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Proceeds from the facility will be used to refinance existing debt and fund the renovations of Torrey Pines Court, a five-building Class A office campus consisting of 206,128 square feet situated on 9.24 acres directly adjacent to the 10th hole of the world famous Torrey Pines Golf Course in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, CA.

“We’re pleased to provide this funding and establish these new relationships with Rockwood Capital and The Muller Company,” said Matt Galligan, President of CIT Real Estate Finance. “La Jolla offers some of California’s most scenic Pacific Ocean views along with convenient access to restaurants and retail shops, established residential communities and an excellent school system. This deal further demonstrates CIT’s ability to use our local real estate market expertise to create a tailored financing solution for our customers.”

Chris Niederpruem, Managing Director, CIT Real Estate Finance, added: “La Jolla is considered one of the nation’s leading office submarkets for biotech and life sciences research, led by the presence of the Scripps Research Institute, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California, San Diego. There are 21 national biotech companies and research institutes with headquarters or significant operations located within a six-mile radius of the Property. Furthermore, the Torrey Pines community is home to twelve of these organizations. We’re pleased we could provide this financing to fund the next renovation phase of Torrey Pines.”

David Streicher, Partner at Rockwood Capital, said: “We are excited to begin renovations that will complete our repositioning of Torrey Pines Court with state-of-the-art office space and amenities. We expect that the renovations, coupled with the project’s picturesque setting, will solidify Torrey Pines Court’s position as the preferred office destination in the submarket. We thank CIT for working with us to create a sound financing package that will take this project to the next level.”

George Derrington, Chief Financial Officer of The Muller Company, said: “Torrey Pines is included within the North San Diego market, which is considered to be San Diego’s strongest performing Class A office market led by a high concentration of biotech and technology-oriented tenants that include Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis and Qualcomm. We’re pleased to partner with Rockwood Capital and look forward to building on our relationship with CIT.”