Los Angeles, Calif. – Gantry, the largest independent commercial mortgage banking firm in the U.S., has secured a $17 million permanent loan to retire bridge financing for Village Center neighborhood retail center located at 17900 Magnolia Street in Fountain Valley, in Orange County, California. The 93,000-square-foot inline retail center is anchored by Sprouts Farmers Market, Rite Aid, and Dollar Tree and other neighborhood serving tenants including a range of professional services, fast food purveyors, and local restaurants.

Gantry’s Braden Turnbull, Principal, George Mitsanas, Principal, and Austin Ridge, Associate, with the firm’s Los Angeles (El Segundo) production office represented Paragon Commercial Group. The five-year, fixed-rate loan was placed with one of Gantry’s correspondent insurance company lenders and features-interest only terms across the life of the loan.

According to Gantry’s Braden Turnbull, “Nothing has been easy to finance in the current market climate, but we have had great success at Gantry in funding loans for suburban grocery-anchored retail with our correspondent insurance companies.  For the sponsor of Village Center, a maturing bridge loan used to acquire and improve the property was refinanced with stable, long-term permanent debt. The sponsor is now stabilized for a legacy hold after working with Gantry to identify a viable structure to capitalize on the center’s improved performance and strong local market fundamentals.”

“The Gantry team has been an outstanding partner Paragon,” said Jim Dillavou, Principal of Paragon Commercial Group. “Their ability to underwrite, dig into details, and address challenges is a huge value add in today’s lending environment,” Dillavou added.