Problem:
Supera Asset Management, a repeat ECM client and one of the most established family-office owners on the North Side of Chicago, needed to refinance 1623 N Sheffield, a 21,875 SF single-tenant retail asset in Lincoln Park occupied by World Market.
The asset had a strong story, including more than 20 years of sponsor ownership, nearly three decades of tenant operating history, and a newly executed lease extension with a contractual rent reset beginning in 2027. The challenge was getting the capital markets to fully recognize that forward lease value while also structuring around the lease timing, recourse, and transaction-specific diligence items.
The goal was to deliver a financing structure that matched the strength of the asset and sponsor, protected the sponsor from full personal recourse, and stayed aligned with the tenant’s firm lease term.

Solution:
Essex Capital Markets ran a full lender process to test the market, confirm proceeds and structure, and create negotiating leverage for the sponsor. ECM positioned the transaction around the details that mattered most: the long-term ownership history, World Market’s operating history at the site, the new lease extension, and the 2027 rent reset.
Using that market feedback, ECM worked with the sponsor’s existing lender to improve the financing structure rather than simply accept the original path. The final structure included initial proceeds at closing, a future earnout tied to the lease extension, a coterminous loan term, and limited recourse through an affiliated securities fund.
ECM also helped work through deal-specific diligence requirements without slowing down the closing timeline.

Outcome:
The sponsor closed an $8,500,000 refinance with $7,500,000 of initial proceeds and a $1,000,000 earnout. The loan included one year of interest-only, a coterminous loan term aligned with the tenant’s firm lease period, and a 25% limited guaranty from an affiliated securities fund rather than full personal recourse.
The transaction ultimately closed with the sponsor’s existing lender, preserving an important banking relationship while delivering a stronger structure than the original financing. For a single-tenant retail refinance, the combination of coterminous term, future earnout, limited recourse, and relationship-lender execution was a highly successful result for the sponsor.