The owner of record Westdale Northlake Ltd. used the new capital to retire bank debt from the acquisition and renovation of the 104,000 sf of shadow retail for Northlake Shopping Center, situated at the northeast corner of Northwest Highway and Ferndale Road in Dallas, Eli Gershenson of Dallas-based Quantum First Capital, tells GlobeSt.com. The center's anchor, Albertsons, owns its 62,259-sf building and 1,989-sf fuel station as will Washington Mutual, which is constructing a 9,000-sf bank on a 25,000-sf pad site. WaMu's long-term ground lease was part of the collateral for the 94%-leased center's leverage for the loan from Chicago-based Prudential Mortgage Capital's Dallas office, Gershenson says.

The Albertsons sale "slowed us down a little bit, but we recovered and resized the loan," says Gershenson. He and Stuart Wernick, also with Quantum First Capital, were the loan originators of financing with a 75% loan to value. The non-recourse, CMBS-structured loan has a fixed interest rate of about 4.80%.

The investment group owner did a top-to-bottom renovation two years ago on the 1960s-vintage property. An existing office building and about 20,000 sf of inline space were razed and a new skin put on the balance to give the center a Texas look with a stone facade and terra cotta tile roof. The center's line-up also includes Jo-Ann Fabrics, Dollar Tree, Tuesday Morning and a US Post Office. WaMu, which has broken ground in recent weeks, expects to open doors by year's end.