Vornado Realty Trust, has completed a $425 million refinancing for Two Penn Plaza, the office tower atop Penn Station and Madison Square Garden.
The public office and retail investment trust, one of the city’s most prominent developers, announced the new seven-year loan in a press release, but it did not disclose the source. It said its net proceeds were $139 million after repaying an existing loan on the property.
Vornado bought the controversial 1.6 million-square-foot office tower built on the ashes of the former Penn Station in 1997. Tenants include the McGraw-Hill publishers, Information Builders and EMC Corporation; it also houses administrative offices for the Garden. New York-based Vornado, chaired by noted golfer Steve Roth, owns 28 New York office properties, with ambitious plans to build a tower across the street, called 15 Penn Plaza, that will be the city’s third tallest.
As financing has started to flow again, Vornado has seized the opportunity to enjoy cheap financing at record-low interest rates, for instance paying $115 million to buy the $171.5 million loan on its Springfield Mall in a Virginia suburb of Washington, according to Bloomberg.
lkusisto@observer.com
