This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet
This week saw a few long-awaited sales and financing deals close, including the acquisition of a Financial District office tower set to be converted into nearly 600 apartments.
TOP SALES
Silverstein and Metro Loft closed this week on a much-anticipated acquisition of 55 Broad St. in the Financial District for $172.5M, with plans to convert the 410K SF property into 571 market-rate apartments, according to a release. The duo announced their intention to buy the Emery Roth & Sons-designed property more than a year ago. The final sales price is $8M short of the $180M figure announced when the deal was revealed last May. The Rudin family, the tower's longtime owner, will retain an equity stake in the conversion.
Mexico City-based Banco Inbursa provided the developers with a $220M, four-year, floating-rate construction loan, which was arranged by JLL Capital Markets Senior Managing Director Christopher Peck and directors Eliott Zeitoune and Alex Staikos. Funds managed by Ares Real Estate provided preferred equity for the investment. The office tower opened in 1967 and was Goldman Sachs' headquarters until 1983. It is 60% occupied today, and the phased conversion is expected to start next month and continue for two years. Eastdil Secured's Gary Phillips brokered the sale.
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A joint venture of Carlyle Group and Z+G Property Group has purchased a luxury multifamily property in Williamsburg for $97.5M from Prospect Development, according to a release. The 123-unit building, 8 Marcy Ave., was delivered in January and has apartments that range from studios to two-bedrooms in addition to two occupied commercial units at its base. Invesco Real Estate provided the joint venture with a $73.6M acquisition loan. A JLL Capital Markets team of Ethan Stanton, Jeffrey Julien, Brendan Maddigan, Stephen Palmese, Rob Hinckley, Michael Mazzara, Winfield Clifford, Steven Rutman and Jay Leshinsky represented Prospect Development, while JLL’s Steven Klein, Geoff Goldstein and Christopher Pratt arranged the debt.
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Hyundai Motor Group has made another Manhattan commercial real estate purchase, acquiring 500 West 14th St. for $22.5M, according to a release. The three-story, freestanding property, which has three sides of frontage, sits across from an existing Hyundai showroom. The seller was Duanco Inc., with president Edward Rabay signing as the seller, property records show. The building was previously home to bondage-themed gay bar The Anvil in the 1970s and '80s before becoming a 27-room hourly rate hotel, The Liberty Inn, Crain’s New York Business reported. The hotel shuttered last summer and had reportedly been looking for a buyer since June, Crain’s previously reported. Rabay has owned the property since 1969.
TOP FINANCING
The owner of the Financial District office tower at 110 William St. has scored $56.7M in new debt, Crain’s New York Business reported. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG has agreed to loan the sum to Pacific Oak Capital Advisors, which defaulted on the property last June along with then-partner Savanna. Savanna and Pacific Oak reached a deal to restructure the building’s debt with lender Invesco in June — a deal that removed Savanna as an owner — disclosing in a regulatory filing that it had secured a New York City government agency as a tenant for 640K SF of the property. The office tower had shown signs of difficulty earlier this year, receiving its third extension from Invesco even as tenants — including the New York City Economic Development Corp. and the New York City Housing Development Corp. — departed for other buildings. The city agency moving into the 930K SF building was later revealed to be the New York City Children's Services Administration.
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Tavros Capital and Charney Cos. scored a $120M loan from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. for a Gowanus apartment project, Crain’s New York Business reported. The 13-story, 261-unit development at 251 Douglass St., which will also have a parking garage and street-level retail, is one of several in Gowanus planned by Tavros and Charney. The pair are also developing a 654-unit building at 300 Nevins St. and a 224-unit property at 585 Union St. MassMutual finalized the deal with Tavros and Charney for 251 Douglass St. on July 19, the day after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a new tax incentive to replace 421-a to ensure that planned developments in Gowanus that would add affordable housing to the area could still go ahead, Crain’s reported.
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Billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben joined forces with JPMorgan Chase to provide new debt for Extell Development's Central Park Tower, Bloomberg reports. Refinancing for the tower, which was Extell’s second luxury Billionaire’s Row development and is located at 225 West 57th St., was approximately $500M. The sum supplements a previous $500M loan already paid down by condo sales, a source told Bloomberg. The development contains NYC’s most expensive residential listing, with its penthouse property going for $250M.
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Madison Realty Capital scored a $27.1M financing deal for 65 and 75 Dupont St., Crain’s New York Business reported. The sum came from Maxim Credit Group, and will go toward the development of a mixed-use project in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint. Excavation began in January at the site, which will eventually see the construction of a 400K SF structure bringing 471 units — including 143 income-restricted units — to the neighborhood, New York YIMBY reported. Construction is expected to complete by the end of 2025.
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BEB Lending, the finance platform of BEB Capital, is providing a 12-month acquisition bridge loan worth $9M to Orsipel V LLC, according to a release. The sum will go toward the purchase of a 15K SF property at 53 and 55 Stone St. and is the first loan originated by the BEB Credit Opportunity Fund. The building is a five-story, mixed-use property and was first constructed in 1900. It has seven residential units and two restaurants at its base.
TOP LEASES
Financial services provider Capco is moving into a 26K SF spread on the 68th floor of the Empire State Building, Commercial Observer reports. The company plans to relocate from 77 Water St. in the Financial District after signing a 10-year lease in the iconic 102-story skyscraper that recently underwent a $650M modernization. Newmark’s Jared Horowitz and Jason Perla represented London-based Capco in the lease, while Newmark’s Scott Klau and Neil Rubin represented landlord Empire State Realty Trust along with in-house reps Shanae Ursini and Jordan Berger.
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JEMB Realty has signed a tenant to 30K SF at its Herald Center, located at 1293 Broadway, according to a release. JIBEI, the Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry, will use the space as a new training and education center for both the Electrical Industry Apprentice Training Program and the Educational and Cultural Trust Fund of the Electrical Industry. It will also serve as a satellite office for Local Union No. 3, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, AFL-CIO. The property sits across from Macy’s Herald Square and has LED panels across its facade, with JIBEI’s space inside one of the building’s pre-built educational spaces that is divided into classroom areas, common areas and administrative zones. JIBEI was repped by Savills’ Kenneth Ruderman, while Newmark’s Brian Watterman, Brent Ozarowski, Kevin Sullivan and Cole Gendels repped JEMB.
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New York State's Office of Court Administration is relocating from one Downtown Brooklyn spot to another, Commercial Observer reports. The OCA, which looks after operation, staffing and day-to-day support for New York courts, is moving from Clipper Equity’s 141 Livingston St. to 27K SF across the 10th and 11th floors of JEMB Realty’s One Willoughby Square. Construction wrapped at One Willoughby in 2021, with current tenants including architect FXCollaborative and consulting firm Gemic. The OCA’s 21-year lease will see the government agency paying $50 per SF for the first three years of the lease with gradual increases every three years to reach $70 per SF. The OCA also has two five-year extension options for when the lease ends and will get 15 months of abated rent, plus a $2M renovation commitment from JEMB. The city’s real estate agency, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, helped arrange the deal, although the OCA’s representation was unclear. One Willoughby’s leasing team is Paul Amrich, Neil King, Zachary Price, Alex D’Amario and James Ackerson of CBRE.
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The U.S. arm of Japanese media conglomerate Fujisankei Communications International has signed a renewal in the building that has been its home for the past three decades, Commercial Observer reported. Fujisankei, whose companies include Fuji Television and Sankei Shimbun, signed a 10-year lease for the top three floors of Princeton Properties’ Tower 52, Midtown East building located at 150 East 52nd St. The renewal is several years ahead of the expiration of its previous lease, which was due to run out in 2026. The 39-year-old, 300K SF office property has recently seen infrastructure improvements such as elevator upgrades and the introduction of a 5K SF amenity center.
