(To read more on the debt and equity markets, click here.)
LAS VEGAS-The mammoth World Market Center, the 12-million-sf home-furnishings showroom complex coming out of the ground here, has just gotten another piece of its financing puzzle in place. The engine of that move is a $225-million forward take-out on the recently completed 1.3-million-sf first-phase building.
The funds were provided by Bear Stearns in a deal arranged by New York City-based Ackman-Ziff. The original construction loan was set by Hypo Real Estate. The expectation is that Bear Stearns will securitize the loan and sell off the B piece.
A trick for the Ackman-Ziff team was creating a low lending-risk environment for a building that is essentially open two weeks out of the year. "Lenders had to understand the property type," says director Alex Draganiuk. "It's a specialty asset serving an industry where manufacturers essentially sell their goods twice a year through markets and trade shows." While the building's two floors of design-center space are open year-round, eight floors of showroom space are open to the public only for those markets.
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John Salustri
John Salustri has covered the commercial real estate industry for nearly 25 years. He was the founding editor of GlobeSt.com, and is a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Journalism award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
