The Tiffany Glass Building, a commercial co-op at 333 Park Avenue South, has been refinanced thanks to a $7.7 million loan arranged by Meridian Capital Group. According to a source, the main portion of the co-op is owned by Andrew Zamel’s real estate group Zamel Properties.
Meridian vice president Shamir Seidman negotiated the loan, which was provided by an unnamed New York-area community bank. According to the firm, the loan was executed as both a share loan, closed in January 2012 at a rate of 4.40 percent, and an underlying co-op loan, closed in early June 2012 at a rate of 4.125 percent.
“The owners have maximized the potential of this asset by transforming this 100-year-old building into a distinctive property that blends its unique heritage with contemporary features sought after in today’smarket,” Mr. Seidman said. “One of the challenges in this deal was the building’s predated certificate of occupancy. We structured the loan to allow a portion of the financing to be used to make the substantial capex investment needed to obtain the certificate of occupancy. By leveraging Meridian’s experience and relationships we were able to expedite the financing to allow the asset to be improved in-line with our clients’ business plan.”
Tenants in the five-story, 40,000-square-foot commercial co-op include Broker Heaven, Citibank and Bryan Williams Associates. Called the Tiffany Glass Building due to the fact that it was Louis Comfort Tiffany’s original glass blowing studio, the building includes six ground floor retail spots, 10 commercial lofts and nine residential units. The lofts are newly-renovated but according to a source proceeds from the recent financing will be used for additional building improvements.
cgaines@observer.com
