Recent commercial mortgage activity included a refinance on a New York office tower, a loan on a Maryland mall and the defeasance of 50 loans that enabled the acquisition of a chain of upscale extended-stay hotels.

Quarter Circle Capital LLC said it acquired a mortgage note for a 158,000 square-foot office and retail building in a $16.7 million cash transaction. The note was in default and Quarter Circle, based in Omaha, Neb., subsequently negotiated a deed in lieu of foreclosure with the borrower and acquired it from the special servicing agent. The Decatur, Ga., building is currently only 23 percent occupied.

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust completed a $150 million financing of The Mall at Prince Georges in Hyattsville, Md. The 10-year mortgage has interest-only payments at a rate of 5.513%. The regional mall measures 900,000 square feet and its tenants include Macy's, JCPenney and Target, the Philadelphia-based first equity REIT reported.

New York-based ING Real Estate Finance arranged a $185 million refinance mortgage for a 33-story office tower in Boston. The mortgage holders of the 603,309-square-foot, newly-constructed facility are Congress Group Inc. and Apollo Advisors' Value Enhancement Fund IV, LP, SITQ. The refinance replaces the original construction loan and finances the remaining lease-up costs at the property, which is 84 percent leased.

Chatham Financial announced it led ING Clarion Partners in the defeasance of 50 loans, with original loan amounts totaling more than $335 million, covering 60 properties. The Kennett Square, Pa.-based company was able to use agency securities, by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as the defeasance collateral for two of the three largest defeasance deals in the transaction. Using the agency securities, which have higher yields than U.S. Treasury securities, create savings of approximately $1.3 million for ING Clarion.

The defeasance played an important role in ING Clarion completing the acquisition of Apple Hospitality Two Inc. for approximately $877 million on behalf of three institutional clients. Apple Two owns 63 upscale extended-stay hotels that operate under the brands Hilton's Homewood Suites brand and Marriott's Residence Inn, ING Clarion announced.

Meridian Capital Group LLC arranged an $18.6 million mortgage for the acquisition of a 15-building, hurrican-damaged apartment complex in Biloxi, Miss., according to an announcement today. The 10-year loan has a one-year lock-out period and a five-year interest-only structure.

New York-based Meridian also reported today it arranged $5.3 million in financing for an unanchored shopping center in Hollywood, Fla. The 10-year loan with a 5.6 percent rate was closed through Countrywide Bank -- which structured a small holdback of rental payments until the build-out of the largest tenant was complete.

In Irvington, N.J., the commercial mortgage broker announced a $4.2 million loan arranged for a Union Avenue Package involving 97 units. The 8-year loan has a 6 percent rate.

In Boonton, N.J., Meridian reported it closed a 5-year, 6 percent loan on The Mansion House, a three-story mixed-use building.