The Nasher-Haemisegger family, owners of Dallas’ NorthPark Center, is close to finalizing a $900 million refinancing deal that would restructure the mall’s debt and buy out J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s 60 percent equity stake. This move would return full ownership of the property to the family for the first time in ten years.
According to a Fitch Ratings presale report cited by Bisnow, the refinancing involves a two-year, floating-rate CMBS loan from Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, along with $300 million in mezzanine financing. The proceeds will be used to eliminate $650 million of existing debt and acquire J.P. Morgan’s interest in the 1.9 million-square-foot mall at 8687 North Central Expressway. J.P. Morgan originally invested in NorthPark Center through its Strategic Property Fund in 2014.
NorthPark Center was developed in 1965 by Raymond Nasher and is now managed by his daughter Nancy Nasher and her husband David Haemisegger via NorthPark Management Company. Cushman & Wakefield appraised the property at $1.6 billion in August, putting the new debt package at a loan-to-value ratio of 55.5 percent—or 63.5 percent when including mezzanine loans.
The mall generated $1.4 billion in sales last year, with anchor tenants Dillard’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Eataly and AMC accounting for nearly $499 million of that total.
Occupancy rates at NorthPark have remained strong; as of June occupancy was nearly 99 percent and has not fallen below 93 percent over the past decade. Nearly 40 percent of tenants are exclusive to NorthPark within Dallas, which helps sustain customer traffic despite competition from other luxury retail options.
CBRE’s Elizabeth Herman Fulton commented on this dynamic: “The property’s private ownership structure allows for an unusually curated tenant mix, keeping NorthPark ‘cool’ while other regional malls have lost their luster.”
Over recent years, more than $25 million has been invested into capital improvements at NorthPark Center—including an exterior renovation on its south side in 2018 and roof and HVAC replacements last year—placing it among only a few malls like Galleria Dallas and Grapevine Mills with similar occupancy levels across Dallas-Fort Worth.
Despite these strengths, new competition is emerging nearby as mixed-use developments along Knox Street and Henderson Avenue are expected to bring about 180,000 square feet of high-end retail and dining space next year.
