$19M Refinances Grocery-Anchored Center

FONTANA, CA-Empire Commercial has secured a new $19 million loan to take out construction financing on the Ontario-based developer's 88,200-sf Sierra Crossroads retail center, according to Highland Realty Capital. Highland arranged the 75%-loan-to-value permanent financing for the center at the corner of Sierra and Jurupa avenues, which is anchored by a Stater Bros. supermarket.The Wall Street lender funded the loan in two tranches enabling Empire to take advantage of the fixed-rate market before completing the shop space and pad buildings at the center, according to Michael Guterman, a Highland Principal, who arranged the financing. Tenants at the center, which occupies a site of 10.58 acres, include a Wells Fargo bank and Jack in the Box pads.The Sierra Crossroads center is at 11225 Sierra Ave., between the I-10 and I-60 freeways in South Fontana. The location is adjacent to a planned 200-acre business park and a community of 800 homes.

When Empire Commercial broke ground on the project last year, it described it as "a highly amenitized center that will cater to the growing community of South Fontana." It is one of many new retail venues that have been developed in the Inland Empire in the past few years as retail follows rooftops into the fast-growing region.The project is one of a number of Empire Commercial retail developments since the company's launch in 2002. It opened its first upscale retail center, the Village at Eagle Glen, in Corona, in June of 2003, followed by Lakeside Plaza in Moreno Valley in the first quarter of 2004. Besides retail centers, the Ontario-based firm also develops office, self-storage and multifamily properties.