BEVERLY HILLS, CA-BH Properties has launched a campaign toacquire underperforming retail and industrial properties and hasarranged an eight-figure unsecured line of credit with Wells FargoBank to fund the acquisitions. BH Properties EVP Steve Jaffe tellsGlobeSt.com that the company, which hasn’t made any acquisitions inabout two years, is targeting properties in the Inland Empire,Phoenix and Las Vegas. Jaffe calls the unsecured line of credit "aconcept that has been unheard-of during the past 18 months" and "atangible sign of economic recovery," adding that BH is "cautiouslybullish on today’s market."

BH has already launched a campaign to acquire retail stripcenters in Phoenix, which it will likely follow with a similarcampaign in Las Vegas and then the Inland Empire, Jaffe says. Interm of industrial properties, the company is looking in those samemarkets and favors warehouse/industrial space―thecompany's portfolio is about one-third industrial, one-third retailand one-third office.

Jaffe explains that the BH Properties acquisitions program willbe something of a departure from the model it has traditionallyfollowed, in which it typically bought vacant buildings, obtainedbridge financing and then stabilized them, usually over a period ofabout 18 months. Although that model worked well for many years,changes in the lending markets have made it difficult to placebridge financing on empty buildings, so BH is now looking forproperties that are 30% to 50% occupied, meaning there is some cashflow, Jaffe says.