The Nasher-Haemisegger family, owners of NorthPark Center in Dallas, is close to finalizing a $900 million refinancing deal that would restructure the shopping mall’s debt and return full ownership to the family for the first time in ten years.
According to a Fitch Ratings presale report, the refinancing package includes a two-year, floating-rate commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan from Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs. In addition, there is $300 million in mezzanine financing. The funds will be used to pay off $650 million in existing debt and buy out J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s 60 percent equity stake in NorthPark Center. J.P. Morgan acquired its share of the 1.9 million-square-foot property in 2014 through its Strategic Property Fund.
NorthPark Center was developed by Raymond Nasher in 1965 and is currently operated by his daughter Nancy Nasher and her husband David Haemisegger through NorthPark Management Company. Cushman & Wakefield appraised the mall at $1.6 billion in August, putting the new debt package at a 55.5 percent loan-to-value ratio or 63.5 percent when mezzanine loans are included.
Last year, NorthPark generated $1.4 billion in sales. Anchor tenants including Dillard’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Eataly, and AMC contributed $499 million of that total.
Occupancy at NorthPark reached nearly 99 percent as of June and has not fallen below 93 percent over the past decade. Nearly 40 percent of its tenants are exclusive to NorthPark within Dallas, which helps drive repeat visitors despite competition among luxury retail centers.
CBRE’s Elizabeth Herman Fulton commented on the property’s private ownership structure: “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 recent years, the Nasher-Haemisegger family has invested more than $25 million into capital improvements at NorthPark Center—including a south exterior renovation completed in 2018 as well as roof and HVAC replacements last year.
According to Fitch Ratings data, only Galleria Dallas and Grapevine Mills match NorthPark’s occupancy levels within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area.
However, new competition is expected soon with two mixed-use projects along Knox Street and Henderson Avenue scheduled to add approximately 180,000 square feet of high-end retail and dining space next year.
