Done Deals: HFF arranges $97 million refinancing for The Gateway retail center in Salt Lake City

Monday, June 3, 2019

HFF arranges $97 million refinancing for The Gateway retail center in Salt Lake City

The Gateway, a 651,778-square-foot, mixed-use, upscale retail, office and entertainment complex situated on 21 acres at 41 South Rio Grande in the Central Business District submarket, downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.

LOS ANGELES, CA –– Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced it has arranged a $96.9 million refinancing of The Gateway, a 651,778-square-foot, mixed-use, upscale retail, office and entertainment complex in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah.

Aldon Cole

HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, a partnership between Vestar and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management L.P. (“Oaktree”), to place the floating-rate loan with a bridge lender. Loan proceeds will be used to retire existing debt and fund future improvements.

Unique aspects of The Gateway include the original Union Pacific Railway building that was built in 1910 and the property’s two newest buildings, which were completed in 2000 and 2001 for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

When the borrower acquired the retail portion in 2016 via a sale brokered by HFF, they implemented a multi-million-dollar plan and converted it from a traditional shopping center to an experiential retail and entertainment destination complemented by creative office.

The Gateway transformed Salt Lake City’s lifestyle scene by introducing numerous public art installations, regular festivals and concert events and innovative activities like Beer + Yoga in the courtyard.

Paul Brindley

With an open-air concept comprising two levels and seven buildings, The Gateway’s retail portion is home to more than 38 restaurant and retail tenants, including Recursion, Kiln, Punch Bowl Social, Dave & Buster’s, Midici, Megaplex Theatres, Flemings, Ragnar, California Pizza Kitchen, Skinny Fats Food Hall and Victoria’s Secret.

Situated on 21 acres at 41 South Rio Grande, The Gateway is in the Central Business District submarket and is less than half a mile east of the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub, which provides light rail services from Ogden to Provo.

The center is walking distance from Temple Square, the Salt Palace Convention Center and Vivant Arena.

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower was led by senior managing directors Aldon Cole and Paul Brindley, managing director Todd Sugimoto and analyst Spencer Richley.

“Gateway has become a great case study as to how opportunities exist within a well-thought-out plan to repurpose retail,” Cole said. “The Vestar and Oaktree teams have done an exceptional job redefining this asset and creating a true sense of place within the context of the growing entertainment district of downtown Salt Lake City.”

Todd Sugimoto

About Vestar

One of the leading privately held real estate companies in the western United States, Vestar specializes in the acquisition, management, and development of commercial real estate, including entertainment-retail complexes, power and lifestyle centers and neighborhood centers of varying size and scale that serve as community shopping destinations with a unique sense of place.

Vestar currently owns and manages 30 million square feet of retail assets in the western U.S.

For more information, please visit www.vestar.com.

About Oaktree

Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $119 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2019.

Spencer Richley

The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 950 employees and offices in 18 cities worldwide.

For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com.