TIAA Lends $280M for Taubman’s Sarasota Super-Regional Mall

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TH Real Estate, a division of TIAA Global Asset Management, provided a $280 million mortgage for The Mall at University Town Center, an 860,000-square-foot mall at 140 University Town Center Drive in Sarasota, Fla., Commercial Observer can first report.

The super-regional mall is owned by a 50/50 joint venture between Taubman Centers and Benderson Development Company. The two national companies completed the ground-up development of the mall in 2014, and the 10-year mortgage from TIAA replaces the original construction financing on the property.

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“The existing $225 million loan, with a rate of Libor plus 170, was maturing around this time,” Erik Wright, a senior investor relations analyst at Taubman, told CO. “We had four one-year extension options, and we decidedlooking back at the election, wiselyto put fixed rate debt on it. This is consistent with our strategy as a mall developer and owner. We’ve built most of our portfolio, and our strategy [is to] use low cost construction financing and take equity out of the deal and go and recycle that and put it into new ground-up development or share buybacks.”

The loan from TIAA carries a fixed-rate of 3.44 percent, has a six-year interest-only period and amortizes over 30 years. The old debt carried a floating-rate, which was 2.2 percent as of Sept. 30, according to Wright.

“We continue to expand our $15 billion, 64-million square-foot equity and debt U.S. retail portfolio with exposure to this unique asset which offers upscale shopping and dining in an area known for its high quality of life,” Ted Norman, the head of U.S. commercial mortgage originations at TH Real Estate, said in prepared remarks. “Drawing retirees and tourists, Sarasota’s economy is strong and is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. Super-regional malls have proven to be a distinctly strong and stable performer throughout multiple cycles, and we are a leading investor in these assets in terms of both debt and equity.”

The mall is anchored by Macy’s, Dillard’s and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Norman added that the financing on the Mall at University Town Center follows the closing of a $320 million loan that TIAA originated on behalf of a partnership between Taubman and Macerich for the 1.3-million-square-foot Country Club Plaza in Kansas City earlier this year. “We are pleased at the continued development of our relationships with both Taubman and Benderson,” he said.