This Week’s N.Y. Deal Sheet: RFR Dodges Fifth Avenue Foreclosure With $160M Recap
RFR has clawed back another of its Manhattan properties that had been in hot water with lenders.
Citibank and JPMorgan have agreed to a new, three-year, $160M loan at 475 Fifth Ave., according to a release. As part of the deal, RFR brought in new, unidentified equity partners at the 275K SF office building overlooking Bryant Park.
“Despite challenges, we have maintained our focus on asset management that makes our properties the best in their submarkets, and we will continue to do so as tenants seek next generation offices,” Rosen said in a statement.
The prewar, 24-story office tower on the corner of East 41st Street and Fifth Avenue was in hot water last summer when Citibank and JPMorgan initiated foreclosure proceedings against RFR after it defaulted on a $180M loan.
The agreement comes on the heels of another successful recapitalization for RFR, which landed a three-year extension on the mortgage covering the previously troubled 571K SF office building at 17 State St. in Battery Park City at the end of last year. RFR refinanced the Seagram Building on Park Avenue for $1.2B this month.
TOP FINANCING DEALS
Innovo Property Group nabbed a $169M construction loan from Deutsche Bank and Axos Bank for 28-90 Review Ave. in Long Island City, PincusCo reported. The loan will kickstart the construction of a 350K SF storage and logistics project on the empty lot. The sum replaces a $43M loan from Deutsche Bank.
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United Construction & Development notched a $65M refinancing from New Era Life Insurance Co. for the 120-unit condo building at 134-03 35th Ave. in Flushing, PincusCo reported. The loan retired an $88M sum previously loaned by Centennial Bank. The 305K SF building, whose condo plan went into effect on Jan. 3, generated revenue of $14M, according to its most recent income and expense figures.
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Masterworks Development signed a $75M loan amendment for a hotel in Manhattan’s Financial District, PincusCo reported. Owners of the 181K SF hotel at 130 Cedar St. replaced a $100M loan with an amended and restated $75M mortgage from Bank of China.
TOP LEASES
L&L Holding Co. has signed two law firms to a total of 56K SF at the 575K SF office tower at 600 Third Ave., according to a release. Aaronson Rappaport Feinstein & Deutsch, a tenant in the building since 2010, renewed its 43K SF lease for another 15 years. Bond Schoeneck & King signed a 13K SF deal extending its space on the building’s 22nd floor for another seven years. A joint venture of L&L and BlackRock owns 600 Third Ave., originally built in 1970, and has recently undertaken renovations such as lobby upgrades and building system improvements. Other tenants include law firm Polsinelli, the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations and global investment management firm 3G Capital. Jonathan Tootell, Tanya Grimaldo and Giannina Brancato represented L&L in-house. Larry Bank of Matador Capital Management plus Cushman & Wakefield’s Mark Weiss and David Mainthow represented Aaronson Rappaport.
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Empire State Realty Trust signed iCapital to a total of 220K SF at One Grand Central Place, Commercial Observer reported. The fintech firm most recently expanded to 141K SF in the building in 2022. It signed a two-year renewal for its existing space and a 16-year expansion for 79K SF. ESRT’s Jordan Berger and Ryan Kass plus Newmark’s William Cohen, Neil Rubin, Scott Klau and Erik Harris represented the landlord of the 1.2M SF office building in the deal.
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Capstone Equities has signed an unidentified private university to 70K SF at The Whale building in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, according to a release. Capstone took over the building by foreclosing on its previous owner, Nightingale Properties, whose CEO is awaiting a prison sentence after pleading guilty to fraud. Now The Whale, a converted industrial building, is 90% occupied, with contracts also out to tenants for a total of 70K SF, according to the release. Newmark’s Bernard Weitzman, Jordan Gosin, Ryan Gessin, Christopher Ventura and Rohan Kapoor represented ownership in the deal.
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Martha Graham Dance Co. signed a 30K SF deal to move from its current location in the West Village to Times Square, Commercial Observer reported. The contemporary dance company has been at 55 Bethune St., in the Westbeth Artists Housing complex since 2012 and had been renting extra space at the nearby Veronica’s Church at 153 Christopher St. since 2021. Martha Graham is taking the space in the Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway in a deal brokered by Colliers’ Marcus Rayner and JSBO Realty & Capital’s John Oler for the tenant.
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Avis Budget Group has signed a 21K SF lease at 4075-4077 Boston Road in the Eastchester neighborhood of the Bronx, according to a release. The property also includes a 16K SF parking lot. The 20-year lease was brokered by Lee & Associates NYC’s Steve Lorenzo and Garry Steinberg for the tenant. Pinnacle Realty’s Ariel Castellanos and Federico Mazzeo repped the landlord, 4077 Boston Road LLC.
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Jack Resnick & Sons has signed two tenants to a total of 20K SF at its One Seaport Plaza office tower at 199 Water St. in the Financial District. Financial services firm Forte Capital Group is moving from 80 Broad St. to 13K SF on the 21st floor of the 1.1M SF building with a 13-year lease. Broker-dealer financial consulting firm Accounting & Compliance International signed a 7K SF deal at the property, moving from 77 Water St. in the summer. The landlord was represented in-house by Brett Greenberg and Adam Rappaport and by Cushman & Wakefield’s John Cefaly, Ethan Silverstein, Stephen Bellwood and Rachel Rosenfeld. Cushman & Wakefield’s Aron Schreier and Nick Masi represented Forte. Rob Wizenberg, formerly of CBRE and now with JLL, represented Accounting & Compliance International.
TOP SALES
Manga Hotels has acquired SoHo 54 Hotel at 54 Watts St. in Manhattan for $56M, Commercial Observer reported. The seller of the 160-key hotel was Lam Generation. Manga owns and operates 33 hotels across the U.S. and will make the SoHo hotel the first to carry its newly launched Toor Hotel Collection name. The property last sold in 2005 for $4.8M.
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Sam Chang’s long-running plans to retire took another step forward this week after he offloaded the the former Holiday Inn at 154-71 Brookville Blvd. for $42M, PincusCo reported. The McSam Hotel Group first bought the 201-key Queens hotel, which is near John F. Kennedy International Airport, in 2005 for $4.5M. Its new owner is Liberty One Group, although its plans for the property are unclear, CO reported.
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David Werner shelled out $140M acquiring the final portion required for the conversion of the former Pfizer headquarters from the estate of late real estate investor Bernard Kayden. The land underneath the office building at 235 E. 42nd St. changed hands last week, clearing the path for Werner and his partner, Nathan Berman's Metro Loft Management, to push ahead with their planned residential conversion of the two-building office campus. The development is expected to yield roughly 1,600 rental units, making it the largest planned conversion in New York City.
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Cannon Hill Capital Partners has acquired 33 E. 18th St., a mixed-use building, for $38M, property records show. The seller was the Roos family in a deal brokered by Colliers on behalf of the seller, Crain’s New York Business reported.
