The mall expansions, GlobeSt.com has been told by GMAC, had been privately financed. The permanent financing is for the 200,000-sf Bass Pro Outdoor World, 30,000-sf Sun & Ski Sports, 23,000-sf Iguana Ameramex and 78,000-sf Polar Ice.
Grapevine Mills II LLC is getting an eight-year fixed-rate permanent loan at 8.39% interest, with repayment based on a 30-year amortization. The borrower is a joint venture of the Mills Corp., Simon Property Group and Kan Am. BMAC's conduit, CII, in New York City has arranged the financing for the properties, which are part of the state's largest retail center, a near 1.5-million sf complex situated on 200 acres.
In an update of the mega-mall's current status, Dennis McGovern, Grapevine Mills general manager, says the three-year-old mall is now 98% leased, boasting more than 200 retailers. In late first quarter 2001, Tommy Hilfiger will move out of temporary quarters and into a 5,000-sf spot. The Hilfiger store had opened about two months ago in the temporary space. The mall turnover is limited and "the ones we've lost have not been due to loss of business," McGovern told GlobeSt.com. He is predicting the retail center will be fully leased by summer as a result of "serious negotiations" that are under way.
McGovern says the mall, a prime tourist spot, is gaining a nationwide reputation as the home ice for competitive skaters, four of whom have made national competitions in recent months.
Meanwhile, a mall expansion is not out of the question. "Any time you're 98% leased, it's good to look at the long-term," he says. The mall and its parking area take up the full acreage, which means any expansion would require construction of a parking garage so surface areas could be utilized for additional stores.
Grapevine Mills is one of 12 mega-shopping complexes in the Arlington, VA-based Mills Corp. portfolio. The REIT is developing six more malls in the US and Toronto to beef up its 17 million-sf, 12-state portfolio.
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