Buie Stoddard Group Lands $54M Retail Refi in Southern California
Refinance Group of America and River City Bank provided the credit facility, consisting of individual loans ranging from $5 million to $25 million
By Nick Trombola September 30, 2025 1:10 pm
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A Southern Californian investment firm has secured a refinancing package for five shopping centers in its backyard, yet more evidence of the retail market’s stability lately.
Laguna Niguel-based Buie Stoddard Group landed a $54 million credit facility for the properties, four of which are in Orange County and the fifth in North San Diego County. Refinance Group of America (RGA) and River City Bank provided the credit facility, Commercial Observer has learned, consisting of individual loans ranging from $5 million to $25 million. Representatives for the lenders did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The portfolio includes the 26,541-square-foot Commons at Aliso Viejo Town Center at 26501 Aliso Creek Road in Aliso Viejo; the 98,157-square-foot Laguna Niguel Town Center at 30000 Town Center Drive in Laguna Niguel; the 17,117-square-foot Moulton Plaza at 23601 Moulton Parkway in Laguna Niguel; the 40,515-square-foot Ortega Village at 31654 Rancho Viejo Road in San Juan Capistrano; and the 20,598-square-foot High Country Plaza at 15805 Bernardo Center Drive in San Diego.
MetroGroup Realty Finance’s Patrick Ward arranged the financing on behalf of Buie Stoddard Group.
“Using two lenders simplified the process for our client and reduced their transaction costs,” Ward said in a statement. “The centers’ quality improvements and standout locations attracted favorable 10-year fixed-rate pricing with long-term amortizations.”
The resilience of the retail sector has bolstered many Southern Californian investors in recent months. Mall giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield in July secured a $925 million refinancing package from a syndicate of banks for Westfield Century City plaza, a 1.4 million-square-foot mall in Los Angeles that is often cited as one of the highest performing in the country. Regency Centers that same month purchased a retail portfolio in Orange County for $357 million, and Hines in September acquired a retail and residential mixed-use district in Playa Vista for $428 million.
Brick-and-mortar retail still has major weaknesses. Brookfield earlier this month traded its 727,000-square-foot portion of The Shoppes at Carlsbad for just $71.5 million, less than half of the $170 million it paid for the mall in 2015. The price equates to less than $100 per square foot, well below the price tag of similar-size shopping centers in the region. And mall investment management firm Macerich has been unloading major shopping center assets around the region the past couple of years.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
