Gantry Secures $7.5 Million to Finance Acquisition, Repositioning of Tucson Retail Center

Gantry, the nation’s largest independent commercial mortgage banking firm in the U.S., has secured $7.5 million of bridge financing for the acquisition, lease-up and general improvement of Broadway Wilmot retail center in Tucson.

The property is located at the southwest corner of Broadway Blvd. and Wilmot Rd. in the heart of the city’s major retail corridor and features anchor tenants including BevMo!, Famous Footwear and home furnishings retailer Tuesday Morning. Lease negotiations are underway for an additional inline anchor space at the center and available smaller locations, including two as yet undeveloped outparcel pads.

Gantry Principal Tim Storey, with the firm’s Phoenix production office, secured the financing on behalf of the sponsor-borrower, a private real estate investor. The loan was secured from a balance sheet lender specializing in bridge lending for value add, redevelopment, and new development projects. The loan includes interest-only terms and is non-recourse.

“Well-positioned neighborhood and power retail centers have continued to be resilient performers in the post COVID era and value-add repositioning plays for projects with solid fundamentals continue to attract lender attention, especially when experienced sponsorship is at the helm,” Storey said. “Tucson’s strong economy, the center’s strategic location in a destination retail zone, and the revitalization plan from a well-capitalized sponsor that is an experienced owner-operator allowed us to review several options for financing this project across a spectrum of qualified lending sources, ultimately arriving at the selected bridge loan to best meet sponsorship’s revitalization goals for the asset.”