By Lisa McDuffie

Pikestown, MD-based CityWide Properties has acquired Crestwood Festival Centre — a 299,707-square-foot shopping center in the Birmingham submarket of Irondale, AL — for $9.4 million.

Marc Tropp of Eastern Union arranged $7 million in financing toward the purchase, securing a five-year mortgage with an interest rate fixed at 4.6 percent. The financing allows for one year of interest-only payments.

“Despite the widely recognized pressures facing America’s retail sector today, keen-eyed investors and managers are able to attract financing on good terms,” said Tropp.

Crestwood Festival Centre, a 41-acre shopping plaza built in 1989, is shadow-anchored by a Home Depot outlet. It includes 44 retail suites and 980 parking spaces. The new owner is planning to invest $1.5 million in capital improvements.

CityWide Properties specializes in value-add assets that have been impacted by vacancies or mismanagement. It presently owns more than 75 properties in seven states, and manages and leases a total of 2,145,000 square feet of retail space.

Source: Connect CRE