Thorofare Capital has funded a $5,040,000 bridge loan for a sponsor’s acquisition of a retail asset located at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Vista del Porque in Redondo Beach, California. The property was constructed in 2002 and consists of 20,138 SF divided into suites ranging from ~1,000 SF to 5,000 SF. Seaside Village Shopping Center is part of a larger mixed-used development that includes 98 town homes, which were not part of the transaction. While the property is currently only 54.9% occupied or 37.6% leased excluding MTM leases, the trade area’s overall occupancy rate nearly 98%. The property was acquired at a favorable basis compared to the average weighted comparable sales basis of nearly $350 PSF and presents the prospect for its ownership to increase value through focused management and strategic leasing efforts.

The non-recourse financing, utilized by the sponsor to opportunistically acquire the distressed property in an off-market transaction, carries an initial term of one year with an open pre-payment structure. Under prior ownership, the property suffered due to mismanagement and poor marketing. The sponsor intends to implement a comprehensive repositioning strategy that includes hiring a new leasing team, investing significant dollars towards capital expenditures to enhance the exterior façade and common areas. Thorofare also provided a substantial “good news” facility for tenant improvements and leasing commissions.

The sponsor is a Los Angeles-based private equity investment company which acquires opportunistic real estate investments through either the purchase of the fee simple interest or taking ownership of the asset through acquiring the nonperforming debt. The group is managed by principals whose combined experience spans over 20 years in West Coast real estate markets and in excess of $1 billion in transactions. Thorofare placed the loan in its third discretionary debt fund, Thorofare Asset Based Lending Fund III, L.P.