Kite clears $23.6 million from property sales-WEB ONLY

Locally based Kite Realty Group Trust has completed the sale of its Spring Mill Medical office complex in Carmel and Silver Glen Crossing shopping center in Chicago for a combined $48.5 million.

After adjusting for partners’ shares, the real estate investment trust netted $23.6 million, the majority of which was used to pay down its unsecured line of credit, the company said this morning in a release.

Kite also secured three three-year loans last month: $21.8 million to finance Glendale Town Center in Indianapolis, $29.5 million to begin construction of the Eddy Street Commons development at the University of Notre Dame and $20.5 million to refinance Bayport Commons in Tampa.

The company, which develops and operates shopping centers throughout the country, is part of a sector hampered by a dried-up credit and soft retail market.

Last month, Fitch Ratings lowered its industry-wide outlook for commercial real estate owners – particularly equity REITs, which invest in shopping malls, office buildings and other properties.

These companies “are situated at the nexus of a recessionary economy, weakening property fundamentals, near-frozen debt capital markets and stock prices that are, on average, approximately 60 percent below their peak level,” wrote Fitch analyst Steven Marks.

In December, Kite laid off 15 people – about 10 percent of its work force – as part of an ongoing re-evaluation of its administrative expenses. Yet the layoffs pale in comparison to local peer Lauth Group Inc., a privately held developer that dropped more than half its staff last year.

Kite shares opened this morning at $5.14, down from a 52-week high of $15.52 in March. The stock had traded as low as $1.94 late last year.

Company revenue in the third quarter rose more than 5 percent, to $35 million, while profit slumped from $3.9 million to $2.9 million.