Meridian Capital Group Arranges $22 Million in CMBS Financing for the Sherman Oaks Collection Shopping Center in Sherman Oaks, CA

Meridian Capital Group, America’s most active dealmaker, arranged $22 million in financing for a shopping center located in Sherman Oaks, CA on behalf of The Festival Companies.

The 10-year loan was provided by a CMBS lender and features an attractive fixed-rate and full-term interest-only payments. Meridian Senior Managing Director, Seth Grossman, and Associate, Andy Strauss, who are both based in the company’s Southern California offices, negotiated the financing for this transaction.

The Sherman Oaks Collection is a 31,394 square foot shopping center located at 4550 Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, CA. Notable tenants include Ulta, Burger Lounge, Luna Grill, Starbucks, and Sprint. The property’s advantageous location on Van Nuys Boulevard is close to distinguished boutiques, restaurants and grocery stores, including Urban Outfitters, Ralph’s Market, Mendocino Farms, and On The Thirty Restaurant.

“This is Meridian’s third time financing the property, as we completed the acquisition, construction, and now permanent financing assignments,” said Mr. Grossman. “When Festival first purchased the fee interest in 2014, a ground lease was set to expire immediately thereafter, and the improvements were in poor condition. Festival subsequently took control of the improvements and collapsed the ground lease. After entirely redeveloping and transforming the center from a nonstrategic mix of tenants to a class-A destination for high-end fast-casual dining and local shopping, Festival was ready for long-term permanent financing.”

Located less than 20 miles from Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks is easily accessible via car or public transportation. The area immediately surrounding the project has a burgeoning dining scene, featuring a speakeasy, an oyster bar, a craft beer and burger shop, and a restaurant owned and operated by two-time Michelin star-winning chef Takeshi Omae. Sherman Oaks has a comparable percentage of 19 to 34 year olds and 35 to 49 year-olds as Santa Monica and Silver Lake, with a higher population and median household income than the latter.

The Festival Companies and its affiliate, Festival Development Corporation, is a leading developer and operator of retail and mixed-use properties and a full-service commercial real estate advisory firm. Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, Festival is recognized nationwide as a respected innovator of urban in-fill shopping center redevelopment and ground-up development projects, transforming real estate into quality retail destinations that suit their unique locations and demographics. Since 1980, Festival and its founding principals have successfully acquired, developed, redeveloped and operated more than 120 retail shopping center projects in a broad array of retail property types — including regional malls, high-quality street retail projects, lifestyle center destinations, resort centers, community centers, neighborhood centers, urban retail and retail-driven mixed-use properties. Please visit www.festivalcos.com for more info and a partial track record of completed projects.

Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group is America’s most active dealmaker and one of the nation’s leading commercial real estate finance and investment sales firms. In 2016, Meridian closed $35 billion in loan volume and sold over $2 billion in commercial properties. Since inception, the company has closed more than $270 billion in financing with the full complement of capital providers, encompassing local, regional and national banks, CMBS lenders, agency lenders, mortgage REITs, life insurance companies, credit unions and private equity funds. Meridian represents many of the world’s leading real estate investors and developers and the company’s expansive platform has specialized practices for a broad array of property types including office, retail, multifamily, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, healthcare, student housing and self-storage properties. Meridian is headquartered in New York City with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Ohio, Florida and California.