Moinian Refinances Fifth Avenue Buildings in Deal Brokered by Meridian
By Damian Ghigliotty February 23, 2015 10:52 am
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The Moinian Group refinanced two adjacent office and retail buildings spanning a full block on Fifth Avenue with a $310 million CMBS loan from Morgan Stanley (MS), Mortgage Observer has first learned.
The 10-year deal, secured by Meridian Capital Group, carries a fixed interest rate under 4 percent, according to the broker. The new loan replaces previous debt that Column Financial provided in March 2006, city records show.
The two buildings at 535 and 545 Fifth Avenue, located between 44th and 45th Streets, total 437,200 square feet of office space and 85,000 square feet of retail space.
“The property has undergone a complete renovation to compete with the finest buildings in the Grand Central office submarket,” according to Moinian’s website.
In December 2014, the global conference-planning firm IQPC renewed its ten-year lease and expanded its square footage at the 36-story building at 535 Fifth Avenue. In November, the National Basketball Association signed a lease for permanent flagship store space at the 13-story building next door at 545 Fifth Avenue.
Meridian Senior Managing Director Drew Anderman negotiated the refinancing. He declined to name the lender.
“Meridian structured a loan that greatly benefited the ownership of this class-A New York City property,” Mr. Anderman said. “We took advantage of the historically low interest rates and closed the financing prior to the 545 Fifth Avenue corner lease, while the remaining portion of the retail space is being retrofitted and repositioned to be re-tenanted.”
Representatives for Moinian and Morgan Stanley were not immediately available for comment.
