$2.7M Cash-Out Bridge: Anchored Retail Center Re-Tenanting
Hinsdale, NH — A longtime owner had just landed a new regional anchor tenant for a 121,000 SF retail center left dark by a big-box departure, but the lease signing and the capital needed to deliver the space were on the same clock. Helvetica funded a $2.7M first mortgage at 54% LTV, consolidating existing mortgage and business debt and freeing cash for improvements and landlord lease obligations — closing concurrently with the new lease.
The Borrower's Problem
The borrower developed the center in 1992 and leased it to a national big-box retailer that eventually outgrew the space and negotiated an early termination to relocate to a larger store a few miles away. The vacancy left the property's largest block of space dark and made the asset difficult to finance conventionally, even though the borrower had owned it for decades.
After a long re-tenanting effort, the borrower secured a new regional anchor tenant — but the lease was closing concurrently, and capital was needed immediately for property improvements and the landlord's initial lease obligations. Existing mortgages and business debt also needed to be consolidated. No bank could underwrite a re-tenanting story on that timeline.
The Helvetica Solution
Helvetica underwrote the collateral and the executed lease rather than the stabilization history: a $5,050,000 as-is appraised center ($46.75/SF) supporting a $2.7M first mortgage — roughly $25 per square foot of building area, at 54% LTV, interest-only for 12 months.
In-place income from the new anchor lease and the remaining in-line tenants produced a debt service coverage ratio above 1.5x and a debt yield above 14% at closing, so the structure carried itself while the borrower completed improvements and leased the balance of the in-line space.
Benefit to the Borrower
- Closed concurrently with the new anchor lease, so the deal did not slip
- Consolidated existing mortgage and business debt into one facility
- Cash-out proceeds funded improvements and landlord lease obligations
- Retained a decades-held asset instead of selling into a vacancy
- Conservative 54% leverage with interest-only payments covered by in-place rent
- A 12-month runway to institutional refinancing once repositioned
Deal Highlights
- First mortgage, 54% LTV against a $5,050,000 as-is appraisal
- 121,094 SF of building area on 506,882 SF of land across three parcels
- 93,165 SF anchor store plus two front strip buildings totaling 14,402 SF
- New NNN anchor lease at $288,000 annual base rent for the first five years
- In-line tenants contributing an additional $93,080 in annual rent
- DSCR greater than 1.5x and debt yield greater than 14% at closing
- Exit: institutional refinance once the center is repositioned and fully leased
Re-tenanting a vacant anchor?
Helvetica funds cash-out and bridge loans from $300K–$10M+ on investment and business-purpose real estate, typically closing in 3–10 days following receipt of all requested documentation.
