Final tenant leases and construction loan keep the project moving.
By Nora Fleming / Special to The Malibu Times
The Malibu Lumber Yard shopping mall should be opening on schedule by Dec. 1, mall developers said, thanks to a $20 million construction loan and an almost full tenant roster.
Sonnenblick-Eisner, a real-estate investment banking firm specializing in construction loans, secured a deal with Malibu Lumber Yard developers Richard Weintraub and Richard Sperber to cover 90 percent of construction costs of $20 million with Wachovia Bank.
The 30,000-square-foot lumber yard property is owned by the city and will be leased by Weintraub and Sperber who will sublease it to roughly 15 tenants, a mix of local and national businesses.
The Wachovia loan does not require a 100 percent guarantee return, David Sonnenblick said, due to the quality of the investment, with the goal that post construction, a long-term loan will be signed with the bank.
This means that while the construction loan of $20 million would not be paid back in full, it is most likely another long- term lease will be signed on the project’s completion with interest that will be more of an investment for the bank. Sonnenblick said, as of now, the project is being built at the cost of a little less than $700 a square foot.
“When [the Malibu Lumber Yard] is completed, I think it will be gorgeous,” Sonnenblick said. “Repaying shouldn’t be a problem. I’m very optimistic for the lender.”
Sonnenblick said he has known Weintraub for quite some time, having secured loans for his Sportsmen’s Lodge restaurant and hotel in Studio City, and had been in communication with him for roughly six months or so before Weintraub finalized the deal with the city last month and the loan agreement with Wachovia Bank.
“We’re very excited to continue the relationship with Wachovia,” Weintraub said, who added that the opening date in late November, or by Dec. 1 should still be accurate.
Jay Luchs, senior vice president of CB Richard Ellis and leasing agent for the mall, said almost all the new tenants have signed leases, and plans to have the mall 100 percent leased within the next two weeks.
“We’ve spent the last two years carefully handpicking tenants,” he said. “We think the tenant mix will cater to a mix of local and national names.”
Already slated to go into the mall are Intermix, Maxfield’s, James Perse, Tory Burch, Crumb’s Cupcakes, Alice + Olivia, J.Crew-Hamptons’ Beach concept, Planet Blue Kids, Theory, Kitson men’s store, Ever and a restaurant from the owners of Toscana in Brentwood, in addition to a few, as of yet, unconfirmed businesses.
Insurrection Hair Design and Bernie Safire Hairstyle, two local Malibu businesses, will be housed on the second floor of the mall. Weintraub designated 3,000 square feet to local businesses at a reduced rent rate when he signed a deal with the city.
“We are talking to two others,” Luchs said. “Adrianna Shamaris, who is currently at the Country Mart, is one of them.”
The average tenant will pay $18 to $20 per square foot, but local businesses will not pay more than 80 percent of that rate, Weintraub said in an earlier interview with The Malibu Times.
Malibu Lumber Yard mall businesses
Intermix
Maxfield’s
James Perse
Tory Burch
Crumb’s Cupcakes
Alice + Olivia
J.Crew-Hamptons’ Beach concept
Planet Blue Kids
Theory, Kitson men’s store
Ever
Insurrection Hair Design
Bernie Safire Hairstyle