We’re proud to support borrowers who take on the challenge of revitalizing neighborhoods

In our series, “Developing Stories,” read about these borrowers and their experiences.

The roads our borrowers take to get to us are endlessly fascinating. Take Oluwagbotem—or Temi, as we affectionately call him—from Lagos, Nigeria.

Temi moved to the U.S. in 2000 with his siblings and studied finance and accounting at the University of Colorado. He spent years working in both the public and private sectors, including for the State of Maryland, managing everything from residential to mixed-use real estate, and ultimately earned a master’s in real estate finance from Georgetown.

Building on that experience, in 2019 Temi launched TD Properties, focusing on multifamily acquisitions and development and began taking on condo conversions and ground-up construction.

In 2024, Carlos met Sarah Massey, VP at Spring Garden Lending. He came home and said, “We should call Sarah!” As Maylin puts it: “It was love at first sight! Meeting Sarah—it was so new to me to have a lender be so responsive and knowledgeable. She has a great way of connecting.”

As he advanced in his development career, Temi discovered us in 2023 through a friend and connected with Sarah Massey, one of our commercial lenders in DC. We financed the acquisition and predevelopment of a Brookland lot, later converting it into construction financing for two new condo units.

Reflecting on the partnership, Temi says, “I don’t say it lightly, working with Sarah and Spring Garden is amazing…we both went back to the drawing boards multiple times as my project evolved to turn it into a win/win!” Sarah adds, “Seeing Temi’s professional and personal growth over the last two years has been incredible…he’s willing to get creative in order to see projects through.”

What’s next? Temi says “Building a portfolio with backing from Spring Garden Lending!”