JACKSONVILLE, FL-Last week, Regency Centers, a publicly-traded REIT based in Jacksonville, completed the sale of $150 million of 6% ten-year senior unsecured notes, which were not only sold, but over-subscribed, says Patrick Johnson, senior manager, capital markets at Regency Centers.

Regency Centers Corporation is a national owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers. As of March 31, 2010, the company owned 399 shopping centers and single tenant properties, including those held in co-investment partnerships. Total gross leasable area under management, including tenant-owned square footage, was 53.2 million square feet.

“A year ago, not every REIT could go to the market, because no one was doing any lending,” says Johnson.  “Now, (issuing) debt is easier than a year ago,” he says.

Fitch Ratings has assigned a BBB+ rating to the Regency Centers notes and gives it a negative ratings outlook. On the one hand, the rating agency lauds the company for the quality of its retail center portfolio, especially its grocery-anchored tenants, among other things, but it registers concern about Regency’s pro rata leverage, which it says remains high.

The use of unsecured debt gives Regency Centers more flexibility, says Johnson.  But most of the time, the decision on what kind of debt to employ, has to do with pricing, he says. “After the last financial crisis, for a while mortgage rates were lower than the interest rate the company could get on unsecured debt, so we chose the lower rate which would be secured,” says Johnson.

The proceeds from the $150 Million bond offering will be used to repay some near-term maturing debt,  such as debt incurred in the companies’ joint ventures which are coming due this year, and unsecured bonds coming due in September.