Aztec Completes $5 Million ReFi For Retail Portfolio

Aztec Group, Inc. completed two loans totaling $4.65 million for two suburban Miami retail assets owned by an affiliate of the Suchman Retail Group: Dadeland North Shopping Center and Snapper Creek Shopping Center.
Jason Shapiro, Managing Director, and Kevin Miliffe, Director, arranged for the non-recourse, 10-year fixed rate loans, which become the latest signs that high-quality, income-generating assets remain well-positioned to secure preferred financing terms from local banks, which have become more aggressive in their lending platforms over the past 12 months.
The Dadeland North Shopping Center is a 32,665 square foot retail center located at the northeast corner of South Dixie Highway and Ludlam Road in Pinecrest, near Dadeland Mall. The property’s tenant roster includes Starbucks, UPS Store, American Automobile Association (AAA), Radio Shack, and Canton Chinese Restaurant.
Snapper Creek Shopping Center consists of 42,700 square feet and is located at Southwest 72nd Street (Sunset Drive) and Southwest 117th Avenue in Miami’s growing Kendall community. Tenants include Skechers, American Automobile Association (AAA), GameStop and Subway. The shopping center is situated adjacent to the Florida Turnpike.
“These centers were ripe for refinancing, with both properties facing maturing CMBS loans,” said Jason Shapiro, Managing Director for Aztec Group. “The fact that these loans were made possible with long-term, non-recourse financing from a local bank speaks to both the high quality of the underlying loan collateral and the stability of the ownership group itself, which has owned both properties for two decades.”
Kevin Miliffe, Director for Aztec Group, believes these loans are a good sign of things to come for the commercial market headed into 2012. “With approximately $70 billion in securitized CMBS debt due next year, of which $27.7 billion has been flagged as facing tough hurdles to refinance, according to a Trepp report, assets backed by steady cash flow and stable ownership will be most likely to secure the most favorable financing terms available. The Snapper Creek and Dadeland North centers are two good examples of assets meeting this criteria.”