SANTA MONICA, CA—Columbus Pacific Properties has secured three loans totaling $37 million. The funds will be used to acquire a retail property in Mississippi and to reposition two shopping centers in Arizona and Indiana. Separately, the three loans are valued at $18 million, $10.5 million and $8.5 million. CMBS lenders provided each of the loans with a 10-year fixed-rate and a 30-year amortization.

The largest of the loans will be used to refinance River Falls Mall, an 872,000-square-foot shopping center in Clarksville, Indiana that Columbus Pacific purchased in 2011. Only 287,000 square feet of the property will be refinanced. The funds will be used to settle the existing debt on the property. Likewise, the smallest of the three loans will be used to refinance a 163,000-square-foot shopping center located in Prescott Arizona. The refinance has a loan-to-value of 74%.

The remaining $10.5 million loan will be used to purchase Barnes Crossing Plaza, a 157,000-square-foot, multi-tenant retail center in Tupelo, Mississippi. A Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Office Max and Weightwatchers currently occupy the center.

All three of these properties are located in secondary markets, making financing a challenge. “Finding long-term, fixed-rate financing for real estate assets in secondary and tertiary markets can be difficult at best,” says Jeffrey M. Hudson, principal at George Elkins Mortgage Banking Co., which secured the loans on behalf of Columbus Pacific Properties. “By leveraging the national footprint and expertise of Columbus Pacific Properties and demonstrating the strong rent rolls at all three properties we were able to generate considerable interest from a variety of lenders.”

During a 2014 Outlook report, Marcus & Millichap's Alan L. Pontius, SVP and NOIGP national director, Hessam Nadji, SVP and chief strategy officer, and William E. Hughes, SVP discussed the importance of CMBS lenders this year. In 2013, CMBS lenders doubled their output, and experts expect that growth to continue through the year.