$22M Refinances Inland Center

FONTANA, CA-The Baralat Co. LLP has secured $22 million in refinancing for its Inland Empire Center, a 309,584-sf retail property at Sierra Avenue and Valley Boulevard, according to CREFunding of Atlanta, which arranged the financing.

Hartford Life provided the new loan, which was arranged by Richard Levine, a principal in the Atlanta office of CREFunding.One of the borrower's goals was to establish a fixed prepayment penalty. The new loan does that by providing for a fixed prepayment after year two. The new financing also releases parcels representing about 70% of the collateral on the loan. Timothy Radomski, a partner with CREFunding in Atlanta, tells GlobeSt.com that the property consists of 11 buildings located on an assemblage of 16 parcels with a combined site area of nearly 27.4 acres. Radomski explains that the borrower wanted the flexibility of having release provisions established for all tax parcels outside of the four-parcel core of the property, along with the establishment of a fixed prepayment penalty.According to Levine, "The value of the asset mitigated many of the obstacles to the transaction." Levine explains that the mostly Hispanic retail tenants perform very well in the area, which is about 60% Hispanic, and that "center sales are tremendous." The property occupies a busy corner near the I-10 Freeway and is leased by 39 tenants."The difficulty was in delivering the amount of structuring the client desired," says Levine, who notes that the borrower is a repeat client of CRE and was able to obtain 10-year, fixed-rate financing. The interest rate was in the 5% range, with a 30-year amortization schedule. Levine calls the transaction very competitive in terms of offering flexibility within a fixed rate structure.The Inland Empire Center was built in 1991 and was 100% occupied at the time of the closing of the loan, which is one of a number of transactions that CRE has closed in the Inland Empire and other parts of Southern California. Tenants include a Cardenas Market that replaced a Vons Market three years ago, La Canasta Furnishings (a Petco subtenant), Pep Boys, Famsa (a Kids R Us subtenant), Big 5 Sporting Goods, 24 Hour Fitness and UltraStar Cinemas.