Ronus Refinances 668,000-SF Lifestyle Center

CARY, NC-Ronus Properties recently took advantage of the low interest rate environment to refinance Crossroads Plaza, its 668,000-sf lifestyle center here. The Atlanta-based company used a $57.5-million loan from Citigroup to pre-pay the existing MetLife loan on the 13-year-old property, according to LJ Melody & Co., which sourced the new loan.Crossroads Plaza was built in 1991. Its tenant roster includes Toys R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Stein Mart, Marshalls, REI, Michaels and Old Navy. The loan officer for the refinance, Kevin Troy with LJ’s Atlanta office, tells GlobeSt.com that there were penalties associated with the prepayment, “but it was worth it because the savings were so great.” Troy describes the financing as a 10-year loan with a 30-year amortization for which the rate was locked in late last year. At that time, the 10-year treasury was around 3.70%. Factor in a typical spread of 120-130 basis points and the loan has an interest rate of less than 5%. The MetLife loan had about $35 million in principal remaining when Ronus pre-paid the loan. Troy did not say what the interest rate on the MetLife loan was or what Ronus was planning to do with the cash it has taken out of the asset. Ronus’ director of asset management Richard Markham was not immediately available Wednesday for comment. Ronus Properties is a full service commercial real estate and investment company with interests throughout the southern and eastern US. The company currently oversees a real estate portfolio comprised of about five million sf of retail space and 254,000 sf of class A office space.