WS Development, Nuveen Obtain $190M Refi for Lifestyle Center

WS Development and Nuveen Real Estate have refinanced Legacy Place, their 675,000-square-foot grocery-anchored, lifestyle center in Dedham, Mass., with $190 million in first mortgage refinancing from Wells Fargo and Truist. JLL Capital Markets arranged the funding.

Legacy Place was completed in 2009 and renovated in 2020 and 2022. The retail center is anchored by Whole Foods, Apple, L.L. Bean and Showcase Cinemas. This Whole Foods reportedly is the chain’s most-visited location in Massachusetts, and Legacy Place reportedly is the most-visited lifestyle center in New England.

Other tenants include Nike, Athleta, Industrious, Shake Shack, Lululemon, Sephora, Sweetgreen and Yard House.

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The previous financing on the center was a $200 million, 10-year loan originated by Wells Fargo Bank in April 2013, according to CommercialEdge. Two units at the center totaling 43,325 square feet are currently available, the same source indicates.

The 37-acre site is at 300 Legacy Place Blvd., in Dedham, which enjoys an average annual household income over $150,000.

In a prepared statement, Todd Rollins, who heads acquisitions and asset management for Nuveen’s Northeast region, said that despite macro-economic headwinds, well-located large-format retail properties anchored by sought-after tenants will continue to thrive.

The JLL Retail Capital Markets Debt Advisory team was led by Senior Managing Director Brett Paulsrud, Senior Director Henry Schaffer and Associate Hugh Doherty, with assistance from Retail Investment Sales Advisors Chris Angelone and Zach Nitsche.

Conflicting dynamics

The metro Boston retail real estate market sits at the intersection of a high median household income and a modest regional development pipeline, but with a backdrop of inflation worries, according to a report from Marcus & Millichap. Availability in Boston itself was just 2.1 percent as of late last year, and centers anchored by grocery and drug stores should retain appeal for investors, the report stated.