Thursday, December 15, 2016

George Smith Partners Secures $34 Million in Refinancing for Repositioning of Mixed-Use Retail and Office Property in California


Crensshaw Imperial Plaza, Inglewood, CA

LOS ANGELES, CA – Commercial real estate investment banking firm George Smith Partners has arranged $34.4 million in refinancing for Crenshaw Imperial Plaza in Inglewood on behalf of its clients, NewMark Merrill Companies and Upside Investments, according to George Smith Partners’ Principal Steve Bram, who along with Senior Vice President David Pascale and Analyst Ali Akbar, secured the financing.

Originally constructed in the early 1960s, Crenshaw Imperial Plaza is currently a mixed-use center consisting of 238,000 square feet of retail and a 67,000 square-foot office building. The property is located at a high-traffic intersection with more than 60,000 cars per day, directly off the 105 freeway at Imperial Highway and Crenshaw Boulevard.

Steve Bram
”The property is undergoing extensive renovations, including a complete facelift, the demolition of obsolete space, addition of new signage and the conversion of ground floor office space into retail”, according to Sandy Sigal, CEO and President at NewMark Merrill Companies.    

George Smith Partners’ Bram explains, “In order to ensure that the renovation plan could be implemented, George Smith Partners was tasked with identifying a lender that would recognize the value in this location and be comfortable in providing the full requested loan amount.  

The financing we were able to arrange will pay off an existing term loan of $20.4 million, and will also fund a majority of the remaining $17.4 million in renovations, tenant improvements, leasing commissions and other capital expenditures that will reposition both the office and retail space.”

“The remodel has already attracted new national tenants including Save-A-Lot, a major grocer, and Planet Fitness. Following the conversion of the first floor of the existing office space into retail space, that floor will house market leading quick-service restaurants such as Chipotle, Five Guys, and Ono Hawaiian BBQ, among others,” Sigal notes.

“We were attracted to this property because of its location, the loyalty of the community, the existing tenants and the opportunity to add new stores to benefit the neighborhood,” Sigal added.  “The city has been very supportive, and after completion, the shopping center will have a new grocery store, several soft goods retailers, a new gym, several restaurants, and a bank and charter school that are included in the office space.  Upon completion, Crenshaw Imperial Plaza will be the centerpiece of the community.”


Sandy Sigal
Gary Simons, Principal of Upside Investments, said, “We were immediately able to see the value in this deal and recognized that with the correct repositioning, and the ability to combine the expertise of our firm with NewMark Merrill’s team, there would be tremendous upside in this project.”

Bram points out that the financing also provides flexibility to the owners, noting that, “George Smith Partners was successful in securing the three-year interest only loan at the full 92% LTC requested.  

"The loan rate floats over the 30 day LIBOR floored at 5.45%, with an 18-month minimum interest prepayment option, as well as the option of one 12-month extension period.  This financing is truly tailored to our clients’ needs.”


For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Miki Conant / Jenn Quader
Brower, Miller & Cole
(949) 955-7940


HFF arranges $58 million in financing on behalf of New York-based Windsor Management Corp.


37 West 26th Street, New York City, NY
NEW YORK, NY – Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced it has arranged $58 million in four separate financings on behalf of New York-based Windsor Management Corporation.  

The loans are secured by 37 West 26th Street and 256 West 36th Street in Manhattan; 411 Theodore Fremd Avenue in Rye, New York; and 6 Armstrong  Road in Shelton, Connecticut.  

37 West 26th Street is a 122,630-squre-foot office building with ground floor retail located on 26th Street between 6th Avenue and Broadway in Manhattan.  

The 98-percent-occupied property is leased to The Flatiron Room, Hog Pit BBQ and Grey Bar on the ground floor and a variety of office tenants on the floors above.  HFF secured a $25 million, long-term, fixed-rate loan for 37 West 26th Street through a life insurance company.

256 West 36th Street is a 35,916-square-foot office building with ground floor retail located on 36th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues in the Garment District of Manhattan.  The property is fully leased to a variety of office tenants and a clothing retailer occupies the ground floor.  Long-term, fixed-rate financing in the amount of $8.5 million was provided by the same life insurance company that financed 37 West 26th Street.



Steven Klein


411 Theodore Fremd Avenue is an 118,658-square-foot, Class A office building in Rye, New York.  The property is fully leased and operates as the headquarters of Acadia Realty Trust in addition to being the home of 24 additional tenants, including Regis and USAlliance Financial.  

Long-term, fixed rate financing in the amount of $16 million was provided by a life insurance company.

6 Armstrong Drive is situated on 16 acres along Route 8 in the western Connecticut community of Shelton.  Renovated in 2013, the property features 163,287 square feet of 92-percent-leased office space.  A national bank provided an $8.5 million, long-term, fixed-rate loan.

The HFF debt placement team was led by managing director Steven Klein and director Geoff Goldstein.

“Given the multi-generational sponsorship, low leverage request and strong asset quality of the portfolio, we were successful in obtaining interest from a variety of lenders, including banks and insurance companies, at attractive terms,” said Klein.

For a complete copy of the company’s news release, please contact:

Kristen M. Murphy
Director, Marketing
HFF | One Post Office Square, Suite 3500 | Boston, MA 02109
Main: 617-338-0990 | Direct: 617-848-1572 | Cell: 617-543-4873 | www.hfflp.com