$90M Refinances Shops at Canal Place

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NEW ORLEANS-The Shops at Canal Place has been refinanced with a $90-million loan from JP Morgan. The property is a 214,256-sf enclosed regional mall here that is part of the 2.15-million-sf Canal Place mixed-use development. The property is located in the CBD where Canal Street meets the Mississippi River, adjacent to the popular French Quarter. The 10-year interest-only first mortgage bears a sub-100 basis point spread over US Treasuries, according to Los Angeles-based Sonnenblick-Eichner Co., which arranged the loan. Sonnenblick-Eichner principal Elliott Eichner declined to name the borrower, which he would only describe as a Louisiana partnership. The Shops at Canal Place is one of the top upscale malls in the Gulf South region. It is anchored by a 108,460-sf Saks Fifth Avenue that posts sales in excess of $500 per sf, according to Sonnenblick-Eichner. Other tenants include Gucci, BCBG, Coach, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, White House/Black Market, Banana Republic and Brooks Brothers.The mall is part of Canal Place, which includes a 438-room Wyndham Hotel, a 32-story, 641,415-sf office building and a multi-story, 1,600-car garage. The parking garage also was part of the collateral for the loan.Eichner says the new owner paid a defeasance premium in order to pre-pay their existing loan and lock in this very favorable interest rate. “We had tremendous interest in this transaction, which gave the borrower multiple financing scenarios from which to choose,” he says.