Mortgage Observer Weekly has learned that a $310 million CMBS loan on 120 Broadway closed last week, likely at a rate in the mid-2 percent range. Wells Fargo originated the loan.
A previous CMBS loan on the building had an outstanding balance of $215 million. Originated back in May of 2006, it was set to mature in June 2013, according to data from Trepp. Read More
Morgan Stanley has provided a $275 million loan to finance the acquisition of the Milford Plaza Hotel, sources told The Mortgage Observer. The 10-year loan has an interest rate under 3.5 percent, according to sources familiar with the deal, and will be securitized.
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is aiming to sell its 90 percent stake in 425 Park Avenue, a source familiar with the matter confirmed with The Commercial Observer. Eastdil Secured is marketing the property, according to the source.
A publicly available spreadsheet of Lehman’s commercial real estate holdings lists a building with a description similar to 425 Park Avenue: “Sandwich ground lease in an existing Class B building in New York City that is slated for demolition and redevelopment into a new office tower beginning 2015.” The list of holdings identifies Adam Spies of Eastil Secured as the broker for the property. The source familiar confirmed Spies as the broker for 425 Park Avenue, but the listing could not be immediately verified.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the story earlier today. The Midtown East building is set to be demolished and replaced with a new office tower designed by Foster + Partners. Read More
Jamestown Properties has purchased the Milk Studios building at 450 West 15th Street from Stellar Management for more than $284 million, city records show.
The 325,000-square-foot, eight-story office building, home to photography studio Milk Studios and an eclectic mix of tech, fashion and creative tenants, borders the High Line.
It’s a symbolic and strategic move for Jamestown, which owns the Chelsea Market across the street and looks to expand its footprint in the heavily-traveled Meatpacking District.
Ironically, city records show that Stellar provided a $150 million loan to Jamestown, which suggests that the move was perhaps more than a kind gesture, but also a play to complete the deal before the end of 2012, as imminent capital gains taxes loomed (the city record was filed on Friday, but shows the deed was finalized December 21). Read More
Related is selling The Monterey, a posh Upper East Side luxury apartment building at 175 East 96th Street, The Commercial Observer has learned.
Sources familiar with the offering said the company hopes to score bids in the $250 to $300 million range for the 29-story tower, which means the firm could snag nearly $575,000 for each of its 522 units.
The announcement came as a surprise to some, as Related built the building in 1993 and has a reputation for hanging on to things.
“I think everybody is surprised when related sells something… they are predominately long-term holders,” the source said. “But I always say that even the best gardens need pruning once in a while, and once every couple of years they sell an asset.” Read More
A group of preservationists reacting to the announcement of a groundbreaking at 860 Washington Street is warning New Yorkers to take in the sprawling views at the popular High Line Park while they can.
Romanoff Equities Construction announced last week that its partnership with real estate asset management company Property Group Partners will begin construction immediately on the 10-story, 120,000-square-foot mixed-use office property adjacent to the popular park in the Meatpacking District.
“It will completely cut off views,” said Andrew Berman, executive director at the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. “Instead we’ll get this 175-foot glass wall that will detract from the experience of the High Line.” Read More
Brooklyn malls don’t usually come to mind as the city’s highest-grossing commercial real estate. But this year was different, with 5100 Kings Plaza, a k a the Kings Plaza Mall, taking the top spot among citywide sales when it sold for $751 million earlier this month.
It wasn’t just the biggest sale of the year—it was the biggest outright, single-trade sale in Brooklyn ever, according to data provided by Massey Knakal Realty Services. Read More
Worldwide Plaza will definitely look to recapitalize, following several months of lingering on the auction block. Sellers, George Comfort & Sons and RCG Longview, had purchased the building – located at 825 Eighth Avenue – in 2009 for just under $600 million.
“The truth of the matter is that they have decided on a recapitalization Read More
After hiring Eastdil Secured earlier this year to help it sell a stake in 521 Fifth Avenue, REIT SL Green announced last week that a joint venture between Quantum Global Real Estate and LaSalle Investment Management has agreed to buy a 49.5 percent equity interest.
Plaza Global Real Estate Partners, the JV, agreed to buy the stake for $72 million in a deal that is expected to close by the end of 2012. Read More
By the end of 2011, it had appeared to David Ash that Prince Realty Advisors, his fledgling startup, was on the cusp of going bust.
The 31-year-old entrepreneur had seen five of his deals—a mix of office buildings and development sites that, if closed, would have been valued in the millions—go from near-closure to sudden death.
Slow business had already forced him to live off of a family loan that would allow him to stay in his Upper East Side apartment and eat for another six months. But that loan was running out quickly.
The outlook was bleak enough for him to try to drum up new business while simultaneously interviewing at Cushman & Wakefield, Jones Lang LaSalle, and Eastdil Secured for possible jobs as a broker. As each deal collapsed, so too did his hopes for his company’s future.
“I’m a positive guy in general, but when you go through what I went through, it’s not so easy to be positive,” said Mr. Ash. Read More
Vornado has closed on its acquisition of a 50 percent stake in two Upper West Side residential buildings 50 and 70 West 93rd Street in a deal that valued the properties at a little over $100 million.
Vornado is buying the interest from AREA Property Partners, a Manhattan based real estate investment company with interests in several residential and commercial investments both in the city and globally. Read More
An unnamed special servicer has retained Auction.com and Eastdil Secured to auction off New Orleans’ famed 693-key Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel on August 22. The hotel sits at 739 Canal Street, at the entry to the city’s French Quarter.
Bidding for the 900,000-square-foot hotel will start at $105 million, with the winning bidder having the option to enter into a new franchise agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group, rebrand it or strike out and operate it independently. The current franchise agreement with Crowne Plaza, an IHG brand, is short term. Read More
130 Prince Street, which Waterman Interests and JP Morgan Asset Management-advised investors bought in 2007 for $112 million, has sold to Invesco Real Estate five years later for $140.5 million.
The 88,000-square-foot building is fully-leased and home to tenants M.A.C. Cosmetics, Lacoste and True Religion Jeans, with M.A.C. as the office space tenant.
Tod Waterman, founder and managing member of Waterman Interests, referenced the return that its investors will receive on 130 Prince Street and the firm’s desire to match the results as it continues “to grow the company in the Manhattan office market.” Read More
Eastern Consolidated has hired Ari Schwartz as an associate director, it was announced last week. Read More
