Gantry Secures $61M for Portland Retail Center

Cedar Hills Crossing. Image courtesy of Gantry

C.E. John Co. has obtained a $61 million in permanent financing for Cedar Hills Crossing, a 477,000-square-foot retail center located at 3205 SW Cedar Hills Blvd. in Beaverton, Ore. Working on behalf of the borrower, Gantry Inc. secured the 10-year, fixed-rate loan that also includes a 12-month forward rate lock.

The Gantry team that negotiated the deal included Principal Blake Hering and Associate Heather Kegler. Putting the financing transaction in context, Hering told Commercial Property Executive that “Cedar Hills Crossing is a double grocery-anchored neighborhood shopping center that serves as a destination location for Beaverton. This center has historically outperformed the broader retail market.”

In another recent transaction, Gantry arranged $267 million for the financing of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs-operated medical facilities in Florida, New Jersey, California and Virginia.

A retail landmark in a thriving market

Completed in 1969, Cedar Hills Crossing comprises 10 buildings across 38.6 acres, according to CommercialEdge data, and has undergone extensive renovations during the past 5 years. Since 2017, the owner has also added some 190,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and medical use space to the existing construction. The center is anchored by a diverse array of retailers such as Best Buy, Office Depot, New Seasons and Winco.

Located 8 miles west of downtown Portland, the property sits along a major retail corridor, attracting some 30,000 daily visits. In addition, the center is roughly 1 mile from Tektronix and Nike’s World Headquarters.

Overall, Portland’s retail market has posted strong, stable growth, even as many companies encounter deep complexities in their investment and development endeavors due to higher interest rates and seemingly less lucrative loan offers.

As of the third quarter of 2022, Portland had 461,333 square feet of retail space in its pipeline, 15.4 percent higher year-over-year, with 134,929 square feet being absorbed by new leases, according to a Kidder Mathews report. Furthermore, the metro’s vacancy rate has fallen to 3.6 percent, witnessing a 10 percent improvement over the year as both new space comes online and demand tightens.