Dealmaker: HFF Arranges $42M for Retail Properties

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, Houston, arranged $41.6 million for Florida and Pennsylvania retail centers.

HFF’s debt placement team, led by Senior Managing Director Paul Stasaitis and Managing Director Adam Herrin secured $19.9 million in acquisition financing for Jacaranda Plaza, a 173,000-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center in Plantation, Fla.

HFF also marketed the Ft. Lauderdale-area property for seller Ram Realty Services, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Epic Real Estate Partners, Austin, Texas, purchased the asset for $29.3 million in March. Senior Managing Director Daniel Finkle, Managing Director Luis Castillo and Associate Director Nat Scarmazzi led the investment sales team.

Stasaitis and Herrin placed the five-year fixed-rate loan with BankUnited, Miami Lakes, Fla.

Jacaranda Plaza dates to 1974. Ram acquired an interest in October 2011 by purchasing a promissory note. Ram took title to the property in early 2012 through foreclosure and completed improvements including facade enhancements and roof replacement in 2013.

“We were able to secure a sub-performing loan at a significant discount and implement a value-add strategy that saw major improvements to the center,” said Ram President Jim Stine.

Stine said Ram also added Planet Fitness and Dollar Tree to the tenant mix during its ownership. Tenancy now includes anchors Publix and Stein Mart and shop tenants Regions Bank, T-Mobile and Gamestop.

In Philadelphia suburb Drexel Hill, Pa., HFF arranged $21.7 million in acquisition financing for Drexeline Shopping Center, a 264,500-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center with office space.

HFF represented a partnership between The Hampshire Cos., Morristown, N.J., and MCB Real Estate, Baltimore. Flushing Bank, Uniondale, N.Y., provided the permanent financing, which included a secure line of credit to redevelop and reposition the shopping center.

HFF Senior Managing Director Jon Mikula and Director Michael Klein led the debt placement team.

“Drexeline Shopping Center is in an infill location with great demographics,” Klein said. “The partnership between MCB Real Estate and The Hampshire Cos. has an excellent opportunity to refresh, stabilize and reposition the center.”