The Nasher-Haemisegger family, owners of Dallas’ NorthPark Center, is nearing a $900 million refinancing deal that would restructure the mall’s debt and buy out J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s stake. This move would return full ownership of the 1.9 million-square-foot property to the family for the first time in ten years.
According to a Fitch Ratings presale report cited by Bisnow, the family has arranged a two-year, floating-rate commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan with Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. The financing package also includes $300 million in mezzanine funding. The funds will be used to pay off $650 million in existing debt and purchase J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s 60 percent equity interest in NorthPark Center at 8687 North Central Expressway. J.P. Morgan acquired its share through its Strategic Property Fund in 2014.
NorthPark Center was developed in 1965 by Raymond Nasher and is currently managed by his daughter Nancy Nasher and her husband David Haemisegger via NorthPark Management Company. Cushman & Wakefield appraised the mall at $1.6 billion in August, putting the new debt at a loan-to-value ratio of 55.5 percent or 63.5 percent when including mezzanine loans.
The mall generated $1.4 billion in sales last year, with anchor tenants Dillard’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Eataly, and AMC accounting for $499 million of that total. Nearly 99 percent of retail space was leased as of June, and occupancy has not fallen below 93 percent over the past decade. Almost 40 percent of tenants are exclusive to NorthPark within Dallas.
CBRE’s Elizabeth Herman Fulton commented on the management approach: “The property’s private ownership structure allows for an unusually curated tenant mix, keeping NorthPark ‘cool’ while other regional malls have lost their luster.”
Over $25 million has been invested by the Nasher-Haemisegger family into capital improvements such as a south exterior renovation completed in 2018 and roof and HVAC replacements last year. Fitch reports that only Galleria Dallas and Grapevine Mills have comparable occupancy rates among area malls.
However, competition is expected to increase as two mixed-use developments along Knox Street and Henderson Avenue are set to bring about 180,000 square feet of new high-end retail and dining options next year.
