Moinian Group Seeks EB-5 Help, Anchor Tenant For Hudson Yards Tower

The Moinian Group is attempting to capitalize on New York major office tenants' westward migration with a tower near Hudson Yards, but needs help to do so.

At a groundbreaking ceremony for his company's $2B, 1.8M SF office skyscraper, called 3 Hudson Boulevard, on Friday, Moinian Group founder and CEO Joe Moinian announced that he was preparing to recruit EB-5 investors from China or India to finance the project, Bloomberg reports.

“We don’t have a number of EB-5 investors committed,” Moinian said. “You can say we’re at the beginning [of the process].”

Moinian expressed his desire to raise between $250M and $500M from the controversial EB-5 visa program, which allows foreign investors to gain visas to the United States in exchange for putting at least $500K into job-creating projects in the country. 3 Hudson's southern neighbor, Related Cos.'s Hudson Yards megaproject, has made liberal use of the program.

Another developer with notable involvement in EB-5-funded projects is Kushner Cos., which added to its list of controversies when Nicole Meyer, Jared Kushner's sister, touted her family's connections to the White House in an attempt to lure EB-5 investment in China. The Chinese government itself has viewed outgoing investment with increasing suspicion, putting in place new restrictions that could make the Moinian Group's search more difficult. 

Another potential worry for 3 Hudson has been its lack of an anchor tenant, as nearby projects in the Hudson Yards district like the Tishman Speyer spiral and Brookfield's Manhattan West have signed major tenants this year. According to Bloomberg, the Moinian Group has changed brokers in its leasing effort, replacing an Avison Young team with one from JLL, led by Tri-State Region President Peter Riguardi.

The Moinian Group made waves earlier this year by launching its own debt financing arm, which adds a touch of irony to its widening search for capital assistance on its own massive project.