Done Deals: $308.4 million in financing secured by HFF for multi-state retail joint venture

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

$308.4 million in financing secured by HFF for multi-state retail joint venture

Connecticut Post Mall, Milford, CT

Claudia Steeb

PITTSBURGH, PA –– Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced it has arranged $308.4 million in financing for three shopping malls totaling 2.3 million square feet in Connecticut, Illinois and Washington.

HFF worked on behalf of a newly-formed joint venture partnership between Centennial Real Estate Company (Centennial), Montgomery Street Partners/Blum Capital (MSP), USAA Real Estate Company (USAA RealCo) and Westfield America to place three separate five-year loans totaling $308.4 million with a lender group led by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and participant lenders Aareal Capital Corporation and CIT Bank, NA.

The three shopping centers involved in the financing are Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Connecticut; Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills, Illinois; and Vancouver Mall in Vancouver, Washington.

HFF also assisted Centennial, MSP and USAA RealCo in connection with transfers under the existing debt financing on two additional malls owned by the joint venture: Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, Illinois, and MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, California.

The five properties are all considered super regional malls located in or near large U.S. cities, and the malls have an average population of 618,474 residents living within a five-mile radius.

The 96.9 percent-leased portfolio has diverse anchor tenants including JCPenney, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Sears, Carson Pirie Scott, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target, Rave Cinemas and AMC Theater.

HFF’s debt placement team was led by managing director Claudia Steeb, director Jim Curtin and senior managing director Barry Brown.

“HFF is pleased to have worked with such tremendous people and firms in putting the debt together for this complex and unusual transaction,” Steeb said. “This financing was completed in conjunction with the larger transaction.”