Office buildings in Manhattan made up most of large refinance loans in August (L.H. Charney Associates Inc., Paramount Group Inc., City Realty, 1450 Broadway, Terminal Warehouse)
Manhattan’s ten biggest real estate loans in August totaled $3.2 billion — almost triple July’s $1.2 billion.
A construction loan for the Terminal Warehouse in Chelsea topped The Real Deal’s list of loans, while near-zero interest rates put building owners in position to refinance debt rather than sell assets at discounts.
Office buildings made up most of large refinance loans last month, although a modular hotel on the Lower East Side and residential building in Hell’s Kitchen also scored loans.
Here are the borough’s largest real estate loans in August:
1. Warehouse Whopper | $1.25 billion
L&L Holding Company and Columbia Property Trust closed on a $1.25 billion loan for the 1.3 million-square-foot Terminal Warehouse at 11th Avenue between West 27th and 28th Streets in Chelsea. Blackstone, Goldman Sachs and KKR loaned the senior $731 million portion, while Oaktree Capital Management and Paramount Group loaned at the mezzanine level.
2. Loving That Low Interest | $860 million
Paramount Group landed $860 million from Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley to refinance outstanding debt set to mature in November on 1301 Sixth Avenue in Midtown. Senior loan debt amounted to $710 million. Each lender will contribute a $75 million mezzanine loan. Paramount lost tenant Barclays, which had leased a third of the building, in 2020.
3. A Refi Runs Through It | $235 million
Silverstein Properties’ River Place, a luxury rental development in Hell’s Kitchen, received a $235 million bridge loan from Greystone Loan Servicing to replace a $230 million Fannie Mae loan provided by Wells Fargo in 2014. Silverstein built the 41-story, 921-unit rental building at 650 West 42nd Street, near the Hudson River, in 2000. Two-bedroom units currently go for about $6,500.
4. CMBS Me | $215 million
Bobby Zar’s ZG Capital Partners scored another refinance at 1450 Broadway. The Zar Group affiliate arranged a $215 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan from Bank of Montreal for a five-year, interest-only term. The loan replaces a 2018 refi from Goldman Sachs of $170 million, which replaced a $114 million loan from UBS Real Estate Securities. ZG Capital purchased the 42-story property from a venture by the Moinian Group, Chetrit Group and Edward J. Minskoff Equities in 2011 for $204 million.
5. Oldie But Goodie | $148 million
L.H. Charney Associates landed a $148 million refinancing loan package for a 387,000-square-foot office building at 1410 Broadway. Pacific Coast Capital Partners provided the debt. Manhattan office landlords, especially those with older buildings, are under pressure to upgrade to attract tenants. L.H. Charney, which has owned the property for four decades, is no exception.
6. Home Improvement Honey | $134 million
Gazit Horizons, a subsidiary of Israeli investment firm Gazit Globe, refinanced its 120,000-square-foot retail property at 410 East 61st Street with $134.4 million in bonds, secured by a 20-year lease with home improvement giant Home Depot. Mesirow Financial issued and placed the bonds. Home Depot’s lease, signed last October, was Manhattan’s largest by size and rent in 2020.
7. CMBS Me, Too | $125 million
David Werner secured $125 million in CMBS financing — debt that belongs to investors rather than a bank — on 235 East 42nd Street in Midtown. Werner took over the leasehold from Pfizer as part of a $360 million deal in 2018 that included the fee interest at 219 East 42nd. The loan replaces $125 million from Morgan Stanley. Pfizer will relocate its headquarters to Tishman Speyer’s Spiral in Hudson Yards.
8. Condop Costs | $100 million
CBSK Ironstate and Arel Capital, the developers of 1228 Madison Avenue, landed a $100 million refinance loan from Madison Realty Capital. Financing for the condop development on the Upper East Side designed by Robert A.M. Stern included $70 million in senior financing to replace a $65 million construction loan provided by Deutsche Bank in 2019.
9. Modular Maths | $83 million
CitizenM hotels scored an $82.5 million refinance loan from J.P.Morgan Chase on its modular hotel at 189 Bowery. The loan replaces $82.5 million in debt that HBSC issued in 2018 after construction was complete.
10. Soho Boutique | $81 million
Boston-based AEW Capital Management landed $81 million in senior loan financing, provided by Ares Management, for its purchase of a half-new, half-renovated boutique office building in Soho for $86.2 million. AEW purchased the 98,400 square-foot building at 163 Varick Street, also known as 60 Charlton Street, from APF Properties in July.
