General Growth Properties Inc. refinanced four malls representing $966 million in new mortgages. The four fixed-rate non-recourse mortgages carry a weighted average term of 9.1 years and a weighted average interest rate of 4.63 percent, compared to the 5.66 percent rate on the maturing loans. After adjusting for GGP’s ownership interest, the company’s pro-rata share of the four mortgages totals $483 million.

The loans include a $450 million mortgage on Natick Mall in Natick, Mass., carrying a 4.6 percent interest rate and a 2019 maturity date; a $200 million mortgage on Galleria at Tyler in Riverside, Calif., carrying a 5.05 percent interest rate and a 2023 maturity date; and a $185 million mortgage on First Colony Mall in Sugar Land, Texas, carrying a 4.50 percent rate and a 2019 maturity rate. In addition, the company closed on a $131 million mortgage on Northbrook Court in Northbrook, Ill., carrying a 4.25 percent rate and a 2021 maturity date.

Year-to-date GGP completed approximately $3.9 billion in new property level non-recourse financings. These mortgages successfully conclude the company’s 2011 financing plan.

“At the start of 2011, one of GGP’s stated goals was to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and liquidity while also reducing interest rates and extending the average debt maturity profile,” said GGP CEO Sandeep Mathrani in a statement. “We have accomplished our 2011 goals and are now focused on 2012 financing opportunities.”

In separate transactions, GGP sold three non-core assets in the past three months for $280 million. The properties included Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, Mass.; the office and garage components of Westlake Center in Seattle, Wash., which sold for $119 million; and Riverside Plaza, a retail strip center in Provo Utah, which sold for $21 million.

For more recent retail real estate deals, go to RetailTraffic.com.