Nationwide provides $31m on New Jersey retail center

Nationwide Real Estate Investments has provided a $31 million refinancing on a 136,928 sq ft, grocery-anchored retail center in the suburb of Lyndhurst in Northern New Jersey.

The lender provided the fixed-rate loan on the Veterans Square to The Hampshire Companies, according to HFF, which arranged the deal.

“Nationwide was already intimately familiar with the asset, so they were easily able to close within a short closing window,” said Jon Mikula, senior managing director with HFF, referring to the lender. “Grocery-anchored shopping centers located in densely populated communities such as Lyndhurst are highly sought after by life insurance companies.”

Veterans Square consists of four one-story buildings and is 97.2-percent-leased with 13 tenants, including ShopRite, Supercuts, PetSmart, Davita Healthcare, HomeGoods, GNC, Garden Nails and Gencarelli’s Italian Restaurant. The 12-acre property at 530-560 New York Avenue was renovated in 2012 and completed in 2000.

HFF director Michael Klein added that life insurance companies are seeking out grocery-anchored shopping centers in highly populated areas like Lyndhurst.

Nationwide Real Estate Investments is responsible for all real estate related debt investments, including commercial mortgage loans, real estate funds, and mezzanine/equity held by Nationwide Financial, one of the largest insurance and financial services companies with $197.2 billion in assets, according to its website. The Hampshire Companies is a full-service, private real estate firm based in Morristown, New Jersey.