(Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

FREDERICKSBURG, VA-A group of shopping centers here, owned by the Rappaport Cos., has obtained a $125-million refinancing loan from IXIS Real Estate Capital that will allow the developer to renovate a portion of the asset. The portion to be renovated, a collections of buildings totaling just under 700,000 sf, is part of the 2.5-million mixed-use Central Park development.

Besides Rappaport's portion of Central Park, the 45,300-sf Waverly Village, a service-oriented center just south of the mixed-use development, will receive the financing. Within the company's Central Park holdings, the 250,000-sf Central Park Town Center shopping area will get the makeover.

Town Center, which counts Ann Taylor Loft and Talbots, as well as some office space and a skating rink as tenants, will be transformed from art deco-style architecture to a more traditional facade. The new look will be punctuated by brick finishing and is scheduled for completion in the summer. Rappaport has already widened sidewalks and added parking to the Town Center.