VENTURA, CA—DJM Capital Partners, based in Los Angeles, has gained $185 million in recapitalization financing for four retail shopping centers in Southern California.
Commercial real estate investment banking firm George Smith Partners arranged four retail loans, which included La Habra Marketplace for $70.6 million, Village Del Amo for $40.2 million, Montalvo Square for $42.2 million, and Lakewood Square, for a $32 million loan. The portfolio loan allowed DJM to lock in long-term low-rate fixed-rate financing on these four retail assets, which are core assets for the company. Proceeds will be used to pay off existing senior and mezzanine loans which are due in the next 12-18 months, as well as defeasance costs. The lender also allowed DJM to place another $60 million of mezzanine debt on the properties from an institutional investor.
Montalvo Square is located here and is a 219,000-sq.-ft. retail shopping center anchored by Ralphs, CVS, and LA Fitness. La Habra Marketplace is in La Habra, Calif., and is a 375,000-sq.-ft. retail shopping center anchored by Smart and Final (Grocery), Ross, LA Fitness, Sportsmart, Office Max, and Regal Cinemas. Lakewood Square is in Lakewood, Calif., and is a 187,000-sq.-ft. retail shopping center anchored by Vons, CVS, Michael’s, and Cost Plus. Village Del Amo is in Torrance, Calif., and is a 181,000-sq.-ft. retail shopping center anchored by Sport Chalet, Bev Mo, and a Restaurant Row including Benihanas, El Torito, Elephant Bar, Marie Callender’s and Red Lobster. The properties have 155 tenants with a 97.2-percent occupancy.
David Pascale, senior vice president for George Smith Partners, said in a statement that the challenge with this loan was achieving financing for all four properties in the portfolio from one lender. “Many of the lenders we approached were only willing to lend on one or two of the properties due to issues such as the partial ground lease at Montalvo and the lack of a grocery anchor at Village Del Amo,” he said. “Two of the properties also had repositioning elements as part of DJM’s plans.”