Friday, March 24, 2006

Jones Lang LaSalle

Lightstone Completes $800M Refi of 10 Outlet Centers
By Eric Peterson
Last updated: March 23, 2006 09:42am
(For more retail coverage, click
GlobeSt.com/RETAIL and to read more on the debt and equity markets, click here.)

LAKEWOOD, NJ-The Lightstone Group, based here, has completed an $800-million refinancing of 10 outlet centers within its Prime Retail portfolio. The proceeds of the refinancing, estimated at $631 million, will be used to upgrade and expand the properties, according to Angela Mirizzi-Olsen, Lightstone’s senior vice president and chief investment officer.

“We have been able to take advantage of competitive market conditions and close this transaction,” says Mirizzi-Olsen, who closed the deal on behalf of Lightstone. “This transaction will serve to enhance the targeted centers.”

The funding was provided by Wachovia; further details were not released. “This will enable Lightstone to continue its portfolio-wide reinvestment strategy,” says Wachovia managing director Chad Johnson, who represented the lender.

All of the centers being refinanced bear the Prime Outlets brand. Four of them are in Florida, located in Naples, Ellenton, Florida City and Grove City. Three of the properties are in the Midwest, in Pleasant Prairie, WI; Jeffersonville, OH; and Huntley, IL. The other three are in San Marcos, TX; Lebanon, TN and Gulfport, MS. The privately owned Lightstone’s portfolio now totals approximately 20 million sf of space in 28 states and Puerto Rico, as well as more than 20,000 residential units.