Shops at Sumner Place Secures $30M Loan

BETHESDA, MD-Permanent financing for the 195,000-sf Shops at Sumner Place in the form of a $30-million has recently been put in place through life insurance company MetLife. Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the retail/office property loan on behalf of its client, property owner The WC & AN Miller Cos.

Located near the intersection of Massachusetts Ave. and Sangamore Rd., Sumner Place sits on an eight-acre parcel of land within a short distance of I-495. The mixed-use development once known as Little Falls Mall consists of 75,000 sf of office space and 120,000 sf of retail space. Miller recently performed a massive upgrading at Sumner Place, a project that included adding a 46,000-sf structure consisting of inline retail room. According to Montgomery County records, the property has a 2003 assessed value of nearly $15 million.

A new 50,000-sf Safeway Market Place grocery store and a CVS drug store serve as the shopping center’s two anchors. CVS committed to its 10,500-sf locale under a 20-year lease back in 2000. “The Shops at Sumner Place is a community landmark and we want to fill the retail space with shops and services that appeal to neighborhood residents,” Miller Commercial Development Group president Bill Miller says in a recent statement. The remaining mall occupants include restaurants, as well as retailers ranging from local boutiques to national outlets. Among the newest tenants are kitchen design company Aidan Design, which recently signed on for a 2,000-sf showroom, and Nantucket Body & Tan, which committed to 1,000-sf of space.