Lenders Keen on Retail Deals
If the site’s strong, and the demographics solid, lenders aren’t as insistent on retail pre-leasing as they were until recently, George Smith Partners principal Steve Bram says. Along with colleague David Pascale, he recently obtained $93M in financing for DJM for the 191k SF Pacific City in Huntington Beach, which will open next year. Some tenants, including restaurants, are already in place, but even so, minimal pre-leasing was necessary for funding. Lenders were impressed with the experiential nature of the property, Steve explains. It overlooks the ocean (or, as any good marketing whiz would tell you, the ocean overlooks it), and will also feature local and regional food artisans in a farmer’s market-style setting, similar to the Ferry Building in San Francisco or the Chelsea Market in New York City.
