ANNAPOLIS, MD-A retail project here secured $135 million in refinancing from HSBC Bank. The project, Annapolis Towne Center, is owned by Greenberg Gibbons and a fund managed by Prudential Real Estate Investors on behalf of institutional investors. CBRE helped the owners secure the seven-year loan.

Despite the volatility in the capital markets, the loan was easy to secure, EVP Joe Donato says in a prepared statement. “Annapolis Towne Centre represents the premier mixed use project in the Annapolis area and Greenberg Gibbons and PREI represent best-in-class sponsorship. As such, in spite of the turmoil in the capital markets, CBRE was able to arrange a seven-year loan that provided the sponsor the ability to lock in a very low interest rate as well as flexibility relating to the release of a portion of the collateral,” he says. CBRE SVP Michael Sherman also worked on the transaction. 

Annapolis Towne Center was originally developed in 2008, as part of a larger 2.2 million square foot town center that includes approximately 620,000 square feet of retail shops, including a Whole Foods and a multi-story Target. There are also 40,000 square feet of office space, and 358 residential units. The project is 95% leased.

Separately, in nearby Columbia, Corporate Office Properties Trust has sold two office holdings, netting $48.7 million for the sale. The REIT sold its holdings in the Rutherford Business Center for $32.5 million and White Marsh Commerce Center for $16.25 million. The asset sales were part of COPT’s previously announced plans to recycle capital in order to fuel its construction pipeline and BRAC-related acquisitions.

The 13-building Rutherford portfolio totaled approximately 365,400 square feet and was 79% leased. The White Marsh Commerce Center sale included a 218,000 square foot warehouse that was fully leased.