Auerbach Funds, Elevation Realty, and Bayview Collaborate on $26.9m Refinancing for Laredo, TX Asset

A partnership between Auerbach Funds, LLC in their first of two funds, Auerbach Opportunity Fund I, LP and Elevation Real Estate, secured a $26.9mm refinancing on their Laredo, TX shopping asset. The loan, a three-year, floating-rate loan with Bayview Commercial Mortgage Finance will be used to retire existing debt on the property and provide capital for the expansion of the Ross Dress for Less space and newly executed lease for dd’s discounts. Rio Norte Shopping Center is situated on 16.7 acres at 5404 San Bernardo in Laredo, a border town that pulls from an extended trade area that covers a large portion of south Texas and stretches deep into the interior of Mexico. International shoppers from Mexico account for more than half of Laredo’s $3.6 billion in gross retail sales. Located directly off Interstate 35, the center is visible to more than 113,378 vehicles per day and is in the heart of Laredo’s retail core that includes a Walmart Supercenter and the Mall del Norte, a 1.2 million-square-foot super-regional mall. Anchored by the top-performing Ross Dress for Less in Texas, Rio Norte Shopping Center is also home to Michael’s Petco, Dollar Tree, Shoe Carnival, Five Below, dd’s discounts, Spec’s and more. Of the transaction, Peter Auerbach, Founder and Managing Partner of Auerbach Funds, LLC stated “We are pleased with the progress we have made on this investment. This particular transaction represented a group effort to lease space that was left vacant by the Toys R Us bankruptcy, at a higher rate, with an excellent tenant in Ross Dress for Less. The refinancing proceeds and the accretive loan with our new friends at Bayview came as a result of creative leasing efforts by Elevation Realty, the hard work of our friend Dustin Dulin at JLL, and the tenacity of our legal team at Holland and Knight, spearheaded by Janis Schiff. This collaboration is a symbol of teamwork and mutually respectfully business dealings. We are looking forward to working with the team at Bayview again, particular Matthew Philip and Brian Selander.”