Rosemead Retail Center Secures Refinancing From Wells Fargo

Another retail complex in Southern California has landed a refinancing package as the sector appears poised for a return to normalcy.

Rosemead Place, a 336,718-square-foot shopping center at 3506-3864 Rosemead Boulevard in Rosemead, received $46 million in fixed-rate, interest-only permanent financing from Wells Fargo, Commercial Observer reported.

The property is owned by MPM Partners, led by Herbert Yang, according to records cited by Commercial Observer. Rosemead Place, situated in the western San Gabriel Valley, is anchored by a Target and boasts tenants including L.A. Fitness, PetSmart, Ulta Beauty and Dollar Tree.

Retail landlords in the San Gabriel Valley are feeling the heat this summer as asking rents continue to fall, according to a first quarter report from Lee & Associates cited by Commercial Observer. The most recent average triple-net asking rate in the San Gabriel Valley market has fallen for the previous four quarters, dipping to approximately $2.81 per square foot per month.

The refinancing deal for Rosemead Place is the latest for retail properties across Los Angeles County. Last year, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield secured $925 million in refinancing for Westfield Century City, returning more equity to the owner. That package marked the second such deal in two years for the popular Century City mall.

Last year saw an uptick in investment in the retail sector across the region, with retail representing some of the strongest growth opportunities in commercial real estate, according to Commercial Observer. This was due to a combination of solid fundamentals, relatively affordable properties and capital eager for investment in the wake of the pandemic.

Lakewood Center in Lakewood, The Oaks in Thousand Oaks and Long Beach Towne Center in Long Beach all traded hands over the past two years, often for less than their mid-2010s values. Lakewood Center sold for $332.1 million in August, down from its $630 million appraisal in 2015, with new owners Pacific Retail Capital Partners, Lyon Living and Silverpeak planning to turn the roughly 2-million-square-foot shopping center into a mixed-use community similar to The Americana at Brand. CenterCal and DRA Advisors are pursuing similar upgrades at Long Beach Towne Center, and Stockdale Capital Partners is plotting a full repositioning at The Oaks in Thousand Oaks.

— Chris Malone Méndez