CBL Lands $78M for North Carolina Mall

Tennessee-based CBL Properties has obtained a $78 million non-recourse loan for Cross Creek Mall, a 790,582-square-foot retail property in Fayetteville, N.C. Mesirow Financial issued the note, Commercial Real Estate Direct reported.

The five-year, fixed-rate CMBS loan retires the existing $81.9 million note on the property that was to mature in August 2025.

Built by Charlotte-based developer Henry Faison, Cross Creek Mall opened in 1975 at the intersection of North Carolina Highway 401 and Morganton Road. Anchored by Belk, Macy’s and JCPenney, the enclosed mall has 108 stores and a roster that includes H&M, Starbucks, Bath & Body Works, Claire’s, Foot Locker, Longhorn Steakhouse and Victoria’s Secret, among others.

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Cross Creek is the only super-regional mall within a 75-mile radius, according to CBL. The property at 419 Cross Creek Mall is 5 miles from downtown Fayetteville, close to interstates 295, 95 and Bragg Boulevard. The retail center serves a population of approximately 330,000 with the average household income of $74,000, according to Placer.ai data from 2024.

CBL’s current portfolio comprises 88 properties totaling 55.4 million square feet, spanning across 20 states. Of the total, 52 are enclosed malls.

Looking to extend existing debt

Since the beginning of the year, CBL has been trying to reduce the balance of its non-recourse term loan in order to unlock its two-year extension option. To that end, the firm sold two malls that served as collateral, one of them being a 761,000-square-foot property in El Centro, Calif. That asset changed hands for $38.1 million in an all-cash deal, bringing the loan’s principal balance to $680.3 million.

At the end of April, the debt was at $668.3 million, which allowed CBL to access a one-year loan extension, until November 2026. The firm expects to reach a balance of $615 million by 2026, thus extending the loan to November 2027.