New York, N.Y. —AFC Realty Capital has arranged $54 million in leasehold financing for Wayne Towne Center, a 650,000 square foot shopping mall in Wayne, N.J.

     The funds will be used by the owners of the retail facility to completely redevelop the 49-acre site during the next three years, according to Peter Berk, a Managing Director of the Manhattan-based boutique real estate investment bank.

     The transaction was originated and placed by Mr. Berk with a publicly-traded finance company.

“This was an extremely complex deal because of the ground lease and the extensive redevelopment effort that will need to be undertaken without interfering with the operations of the committed tenants,” commented Mr. Berk. 

“AFC was able to secure a lender who understood the issues and worked with the owner on a loan structure that would allow the owner to execute their business plan while still complying with all the loan covenants and not disturb the existing tenancy.”

     Wayne Towne Center is home to prominent national tenants,Hublot Replica including Fortunoff, JC Penny, Borders, Loehmans, TGIF and Daffy’s.  The mall is situated in Passaic County, N.J., one of the area’s premier retail destinations, surrounded by densely-populated and wealthy municipalities and located in close proximity to major highways such as Interstate 80 and Routes 46 and 23.

     AFC Realty Capital is an innovative real estate investment banking firm specializing in debt and equity financing, investment, development, and consulting/advisory services.  The firm has been instrumental, both in a principal and advisory capacity, in financing, investment and development transactions aggregating in excess of $5 billion.