PREIT Secures $56M Loan For Dartmouth Mall: The Boston Deal Sheet
PREIT landed a $56M loan for its Dartmouth Mall after it showed strong performance, including turning its former Sears store into an Aldi and a Burlington discount store.
The 10-year loan carries an interest rate of 7.125% and matures in October 2035.
The loan, as well as financing for Springfield Town Center and Woodland Mall, has generated $286M in loan proceeds and has reduced the total portfolio weighted average interest rate by 16 basis points.
The mall is near the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus and the city of New Bedford. The shopping area is anchored by a Macy's, JCPenney and an AMC movie theater.
In 2023, PREIT filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in more than three years to restructure its debt with lenders. The loan will provide the company with $2.1M in annual interest savings.
LEASES
New York-based investment company KKR signed a 132K SF lease at The Chiofaro Co.'s International Place in downtown Boston. The lease is an expansion and relocation of the firm's office, which was originally at 20 Guest St. in Brighton. The firm didn't disclose its current square footage at the property, but the new lease is more than twice the size of the 46K SF one it occupied in 2017. JLL, Newmark and Cushman & Wakefield worked on the deal.
FINANCING
Women's soccer team Boston Legacy Football Club secured $100M in financing from Bank of America for the White Stadium renovation in Jamaica Plain. Boston has pledged roughly half of the cost of the project, including rebuilding the west grandstand and making several other improvements on the property. In addition to the professional soccer games, the stadium will host Boston Public Schools athletic contests. Demolition on the site is complete, and the next phase of construction will begin in November.
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MassDevelopment issued a $38M tax-exempt bond on behalf of an affiliate of Pennrose LLC for the conversion of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Jamaica Plain into 55 units of affordable housing. Pennrose collaborated with Hyde Square Task Force, which purchased the property in 2014. The bond was purchased by Citizens Bank. In addition, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities will provide roughly $33M in equity for the project.
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MassDevelopment issued a $34M tax-exempt bond on behalf of an affiliate of Impact Residential Development and The Neighborhood Developers for a 125-unit affordable housing development at 25 Garvey St. in Everett. The development would include 107 units set aside for households making 60% of the area median income. Eastern Bank has purchased the bond. In addition to the bond, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities will provide roughly $22M in equity for the project.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
The Boston Planning Department recommended the approval of roughly 639K SF across five developments and would create 354 housing units. The board also approved a new zoning plan for downtown that would rezone historic parts of the city and allow residential skyscrapers up to 700 feet in certain parts of downtown. It also approved of the Groundwater Conservation Overlay District that would streamline the process for substantial rehabilitation projects.
