Westcore Secures $70M in Financing for California Properties

Westcore Properties, a San Diego-based owner and operator of institutional industrial and office properties, announced that it had secured $70 million in permanent financing for four recently purchased properties in California. According to a San Diego Business Journal article, terms of the deal were not disclosed, though a company statement said financing packages were arranged through Bank of America, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank.

According to Don Ankeny, Westcore Properties' president and CEO, "The acquisition and immediate financing of these projects totaling almost 1 million square feet is a significant accomplishment for our company which is aggressively working to double in size over the next 12 months."

The financed projects, totaling nearly 1 million square feet, included Central Plaza, a three-building, 150,000-square-foot industrial project in Union City that was acquired for $13 million; Westlake Center, a 45,000-square-foot office building in Encinitas purchased for $6.8 million; Salt Lake Industrial Park, a 132,000-square-foot project in City of Industry purchased by Westcore in a short sale for $9.5 million; and Kato Industrial Park, a 625,000-square-foot, four-building industrial park in Fremont that was just purchased for $45.6 million.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Kite Realty Secures $23M Financing for Four Corner Square

Kite Realty Group Trust, a full-service, vertically integrated real estate investment trust, announced this week that it has closed on a $23 million construction loan for its Four Corner Square redevelopment property in Maple Valley, Washington. Plans for the redevelopment include expanding from 44,000 square feet to 109,000 square feet. The construction loan was financed by U.S. Bank, bears an interest rate of LIBOR plus 225 basis points, and has a three year term with an option to extend for an additional two years.

"We are excited to commence construction on the expansion of Four Corner Square," said John A. Kite, Kite Realty Group Trust's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This project reflects our ability to utilize our value-added platform to enhance the quality of the center." The property is currently 84% leased with major tenants including Johnson’s Home & Garden and Walgreens.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

LaSalle Hotel Properties Closes $177.5M Loan

LaSalle Hotel Properties announced this month that it had closed on a new $177.5 million term loan. The seven-year term loan matures on May 16, 2019, and was swapped to a fixed interest rate for the full seven-year term. The loan closing came days before LaSalle Hotel prepared to finish redeeming about $166.8 million of its preferred shares on May 21, according to a Law360 article.

Regions Capital Markets and BMO Capital Markets were Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Running Managers. US Bank, BB&T and Raymond James Bank were also participants in the term loan.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Construction Begins on $100M Rockwood Exchange

A groundbreaking ceremony was held this week in Norwood near Cincinnati as developer Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate Inc. began construction on its Rockwood Exchange development. The project is being financed by US Bank with Schumacher Dugan overseeing the construction. According to a Business Courier article, the 12-acre project has been in the works since 2003, when Anderson bought up almost all of the properties on the three-block area needed for the Exchange. Five property owners held out, prompting five years of legal battles, which ended just as the recession began.

The $100 million mixed-use project will include 15,000 square feet of single story retail, 230,000 square feet of retail, entertainment, and office space, plus two food restaurants and a parking garage. Anderson and Brandicorp have also partnered together on a 123-key Courtyard by Marriot within the development that's expected to open Spring 2013.

"When you get first-class projects like this in your community, it's going to have a ripple effect," said Mayor Tom Williams of the project in a Cincinnati Enquirer article last October. "This shows we're starting to move."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.