Brooklyn Retail Property Lands $90M Refi

Midtown Equities acquired 240 Bedford Ave in 2012. Image courtesy of Newmark

A joint venture of Midtown Equities, Aurora Capital Associates and ACHS Management has secured a $90 million refinancing for 240 Bedford Ave., a retail property in Brooklyn spanning 181,000 square feet. Newmark secured the loan, which was provided by Apollo Global Management.

The grocery-anchored property features 176-foot frontage on Bedford Avenue. Tenants include Whole Foods, Equinox, Chipotle, T-Mobile and Citibank. The property has a WALT (Weighted Average Lease Term) of more than 12 years. Midtown Equities acquired the property, formerly a vacant warehouse, in 2012 and redeveloped the asset.

Located at the intersection of Bedford Avenue and North 4th Street, the retail center is in the heart of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, within a highly walkable area. It is also roughly 3 miles from downtown Brooklyn, as well as near multiple transportation options such as subway and bus stations.

Grocery-anchored retail’s good performance

In a recent interview Transwestern Managing Director of Retail Services & Urban Land Services Steve Williamson told Commercial Property Executive that grocery-anchored retail assets are the most sought-after properties, along with experiential retail concepts. Williamson also said that the low vacancy rates and high rents for this asset type are brought about by a lack of supply, as the interest rates, increasing construction costs and unavailability of debt have greatly reduced development activity.

Newmark’s Co-Presidents Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub, along with Senior Managing Director Daniel Fromm, Director Benjamin Kroll and Analyst Alexander Saslove secured the financing. Stolly and Roeschlaub were recently involved in arranging a $330 million refinancing for an office tower in Manhattan.