$18,900,000 Fitness Anchored Retail Refinance w/10 Years Interest Only @ 10-year Swap Rate + 1.58%
Transaction Description: George Smith Partners secured an $18,900,000 non-recourse permanent refinance for an 89,000 square foot fitness-anchored retail center in eastern Los Angeles County. When discussing the transaction with lenders, GSP encountered a 42 basis point range between the highest and lowest spreads over the 10-year Swap Rate. Fixed for 10 years at 4.65%, payments are interest only for the entire 10-year term.
Challenges: A Phase I environmental report revealed the presence of a former gas station, mandating a Phase II subsurface investigation. The subject property has a vacant freestanding pad comprising 16% of the rentable square footage that has been vacant since the end of 2015. A Tenants-In-Common (TIC) ownership structure added complexity to due diligence and closing documentation involving carve-out guarantors. Post application, market spreads widened considerably and threatened proceeds due to a DCR constraint.
Solutions: A Phase II subsurface investigation confirmed the soils were void of any environmental contaminants. For the vacant pad, GSP verified the location is the last Class A retail space available in this submarket and provided recently generated LOIs from several prospective tenants. This allowed the underwriter to become comfortable with the in-place vacancy without mandating a newly signed lease for this pad. The TIC ownership is comprised of only four entities and the carve-out guarantor holds management control over of all four entities. This simplified due diligence and provided additional clarity for asset control. While in application, our Sponsor was able to renew a major tenant and replace another tenant with a newly signed lease without any downtime. An up-to-date list of tenant LOIs in the vacant pad allowed GSP to demonstrate a consistency of future cash flow and reinforced the strength of the asset. This allowed the lender to maintain the 1.58% spread and the original applied for loan proceeds.
