Axilla Capital LLC procured a $2.2 million first mortgage loan from a life company to refinance Hiller’s Market in Commerce Township, Mich. The 55,534-square-foot property is one of seven locations in Hiller’s family-owned supermarket chain.
Joel Mazur, principal of Axilla Capital, originated the transaction and secured the financing. The borrower was looking to refinance the property with a loan that would be coterminous with the Hiller’s lease term.
“While the loan request was conservative given the property’s value and loan per square foot, most life companies wanted the borrower’s principals to provide some element of personal liability,” Mazur said.
The Axilla team’s solution was to formulate an effective marketing strategy demonstrating that the strong sales per square foot, low occupancy cost and submarket’s strength served as the essential credit-risk mitigants.
Axilla identified an off-the-radar life insurance company willing to provide terms that met the borrower’s requirements, including a flexible prepayment structure. The lender was ultimately impressed with Hiller’s portfolio and CEO Jim Hiller’s longstanding commitment to the company’s customers and community.
Hiller’s Commerce is located at the southwest corner of Commerce and Union Lake roads in Commerce Township. The property is just three miles north of M-5, a highly trafficked state highway that runs through the suburbs of Oakland and Wayne counties and connects with ramps to interstate freeways I-96, I-275 and I-696.
