The properties acquired in the all-cash transactions--a shopping center in Gresham, OR and office buildings in Las Vegas and Albuquerque--were the back-end of an IRS 1031 exchange of proceeds from Westlake's year-end 2005 sale of a six-property, 1,000-unit senior living portfolio for $126 million. The property being refinanced, another retail center in Gresham, was about to become subject to an interest rate swap.

Buchanan Street Partners managing partner Tom Sherlock and loan originator Jed Gates tell GlobeSt.com Westlake decided to leverage the assets now in order to take advantage of favorable interest rates. The interest rates on the loans were fixed below 6%, and the average leverage was in the 65% to 70% range. The terms on each permanent loan were structured with no loan fees, as non recourse and with all reserve requirements waived.

The Gresham properties are Gresham Station North, a 145,300-sf retail center, and Gresham Station Shopping Center, a 296,000-sf center. Westlake took out a $21.9-million loan on the smaller center and a $41.5-million loan on the larger center.