Avant Capital Partners Completes $6,500,000 Refinance Of Grocery Anchored Shopping Center

Jan. 8, 2013 - PRLog -- AVANT Capital Partners has successfully closed a $6,500,000 conventional loan secured by a 185,600-sf grocery anchored retail center in Memphis, TN (the “Property”).  AVANT Capital Partners, a commercial real estate lender and capital advisory firm, completed the loan to refinance the property at an improved interest rate and provide cash-out to the borrower. The mortgage amortizes on a 25-year schedule and has a 10-year term.

The Property, known as Hickory Commons, was originally constructed in 1982 and is currently 98.1% occupied by a strong mix of national and local tenants, including Burlington Coat Factory, Adecco Employment, H&R Block, Marty’s Menswear, Rent-A-Center, Simply Fashion, and T-Mobile.

The Property is located approximately 10 miles southeast of Downtown Memphis in a major retail corridor that benefits from a large residential and daytime workforce population. The world headquarters of FedEx is located just 3 miles east of the Property and the World Overcomers Outreach Ministry, an important church in the local community with a 4,000 member congregation and up to 13,000 attendees, is located directly across from the Property. Other retailers in this corridor include Target, Home Depot, Sears, Lowe’s, CostCo, Petco, JC Penney, Walmart, and Kroger, among many others.

According to Adam Luysterborghs, AVANT’s Principal located in Greenwich CT, “we are having an outstanding fourth quarter and our pipeline of deals is also looking busy for 2013.  We are offering bridge & conventional financing on deals ranging from $500,000 to $10,000,000 and the response to our lending programs has been consistently strong.”

The Property is located in a submarket characterized by high vacancy. The Property, however, shows strong occupancy due to a tenant mix that is well-suited to the needs of the local community. Many competing retail properties just east and west of the Property are largely vacant, primarily due to vacant big box or anchor spaces that have been left by struggling or failed retailers that entered the market when the area was heavily overbuilt. Many of these tenants either went out of business or left over time. This being said, most of the properties that are largely vacant are no longer viable retail centers and have not been for some time. It is expected that nearly 2 million square feet of inventory will be subtracted from the market in the next two or three years, and remaining retailers in the marketplace are likely to move into better located performing properties in the corridor.

This particular property is controlled by a strong sponsorship group and generates strong cash flow despite being located in a non-prime submarket within Memphis.  "The sponsorship group involved with this transaction is a top notch operator, truly one of the best in the business, and is well respected within the retail community," according to Amy Cheng, AVANT's Chief Underwriter.

About Avant Capital Partners--Avant Capital Partners is a commercial real estate lender and capital advisor. The company provides commercial mortgages for stabilized and in-transition investment and owner occupied properties nationwide. They offer permanent financing solutions for stabilized assets and bridge or interim loans for properties that are in-transition.

For more information about Avant Capital Partners, please contact:

Adam Luysterborghs
Managing Principal
(212) 219-9419      
adam@avant-capital.com