A rendering of The Shops at Ledgewood Commons in Roxbury — Courtesy: Cushman & Wakefield
By Joshua Burd
Advance Realty Investors has obtained a $72.5 million construction loan that will pave the way for it to transform an aging mall in western Morris County, Cushman & Wakefield announced.
Brokers with the firm on Monday said Advance, through an affiliate, has secured the financing for the redevelopment of the former Ledgewood Mall in Roxbury. Santander Bank is providing the loan to help the developer complete what will be known as The Shops at Ledgewood Commons.
“While financing retail centers can be challenging in the current climate, quality assets and experienced sponsors still garner strong demand from a subset of lenders, which, given our strong lender relationships and deal flow volume, we were able to tap into,” said John Alascio of Cushman & Wakefield’s equity, debt and structured finance team. “During the marketing process, we secured competitive interest from a number of banks and debt funds and ultimately selected Santander based on its clear understanding of the redevelopment and ability to provide the attractive terms and flexibility necessary to complete the project.”
Alascio headed the assignment with Sridhar Vankayala, TJ Sullivan and Zachary Kraft, citing Ledgewood Commons’ location directly on Route 10.
March Associates Construction is serving as the construction manager for the project.
“We could not be more pleased with our team’s collective execution on this financing and we greatly look forward to the revitalization of this once thriving mall,” said Alex Cocoziello of Advance Realty Investors. “Once complete, this center will serve as the model for how struggling retail centers, through great partnerships and creativity, can be successfully repositioned.”
For his part, Vankayala noted that Advance’s team “has already added significant value to Ledgewood Commons via strong preleasing and recommitment from existing tenants, which speaks volumes to the strength of the center.”
“Coupled with robust market and consumer demographics, this gave potential lenders comfort and enabled them to appreciate the center’s potential to transform into a vibrant retail power center anchored by credit tenants,” Vankayala said. “As retail trends continue to move away from traditional malls, Ledgewood Commons is positioned to thrive in the modern retail environment as a premier open-air retail destination.”
Advance, DeBartolo start demolition of Morris County mall ahead of redevelopment (VIDEO)
