Dealmaker: Eastern Union Secures $11M for Ohio Shopping Centers

(Erie Commons, Mentor, Ohio.)

Eastern Union, New York, arranged $10.9 million in acquisition financing for two neighborhood shopping centers in Mentor, Ohio.

The properties are the 232,386-square-foot Erie Commons at 7960-8000 Plaza Boulevard and the 80,480-square-foot Great Lakes Plaza at 7830 Plaza Boulevard.

Eastern Union Senior Managing Director Marc Tropp with the firm’s Mid-Atlantic Group secured the financing for Baltimore-based America’s Realty LLC. The privately held company focuses on shopping centers in “blue-collar Middle America,” as described by President and Founder Carl Verstandig.

Founded in 1987, America’s Realty LLC’s portfolio totals 133 properties nationwide. The firm holds 18 retail centers in Ohio representing 3.4 million square feet of space including Erie Commons and Great Lakes Plaza.

“Neighborhood-based retail centers hold lasting investment value, even as the economy at large faces challenges,” Verstandig said. “Our approach increases local job opportunities through the purchase of centers where the big-ticket retailers have pulled out. We fill those large units with retailers offering affordable merchandise.”

Tropp noted Eastern Union work with First Bank, St. Louis, Mo., to deliver a 75% loan-to-value ratio. “We succeeded in securing a favorable loan-to-value ratio by reinforcing the lender’s confidence that America’s Realty had the experience and know-how to readily attract new tenants.”

America’s Realty paid $14.6 million for the properties.