Tishman Speyer Lands $425M Refinance for The Jacx in Long Island City
The largest office lessee, Macy’s, could soon sublease around 400,000 square feet of space
By Mack Burke August 27, 2021 3:56 pm
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If you look into the center of Long Island City, Queens, from a variety of angles, there’s a good chance you will spot one of Tishman Speyer’s towering pieces of fresh real estate.
The developer has come to command much of LIC’s skyline over the last several years, with a series of sprawling residential and mixed-use office developments.
One of its most recent contributions to Queens’ transit and commercial hub was The Jacx, a mixed-use, creative office development offering 1.2 million square feet of rentable space across two connected, 26-story towers at 28-07 Jackson Avenue.
After two years of construction, the $650 million development topped out in the fall of 2018, and it officially opened the next year, with Tishman having leased out the entire property by the start of 2019.
Two years later, the firm has now managed to refinance the development with a $425 million commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loan originated by Bank of America on Aug. 20, according to information from Moody’s Investors Service, which analyzed the deal. CoStar News reported that the loan was incoming earlier this week.
The deal refinanced about $200 million in existing debt, returned about $150 million in EB-5 financing and allowed Tishman to recoup nearly $40 million in equity, according to Moody’s, which wrote that Tishman will retain around $181.4 million in hard equity, considering the $650 million in development costs. The loan, which closed on Aug. 20, will accrue interest at a floating rate of 3.05 percent over Libor.
The Jacx is fully leased out — dominated by long-term leases to institutional-quality tenants, such as WeWork (WE), the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s.
Macy’s is the largest tenant, having leased out nearly 54 percent of the asset, although, as a result of the pandemic, that space is dark, according to Moody’s. The retailer is looking to sublet its more than 400,000 square feet — across the entire 22-story east tower and two floors at the base level — making that listing one of the largest available in the city.
According to Moody’s, Macy’s, whose lease runs through February 2040, has already subleased the entire 6th floor of the east tower and is currently in discussions with two “anchor tenants,” who are “seeking to establish outer borough headquarters in New York City.” The retailer, though, has prepaid rent through January 2022.
Bloomingdale’s, a Macy’s subsidiary, is housed in 11 floors in the west tower, utilizing its space as its headquarters.
The Jacx boasts the two, 22-story towers, which sit on top of a four-story base “podium”; as well as a 550-space subterranean parking garage; 47,000 square feet of retail; a one-acre, landscaped and fully furnished terrace; and an enclosed “pavilion” that can host food and beverage offerings. The development also sits above the Queens Plaza subway junction, one of the city’s largest transit hubs.
The Jacx sits next to Tishman’s massive, three-building, luxury residential development, Jackson Park, as well as its office tower, Two Gotham Center.
Mack Burke can be reached at mburke@commercialobserver.com.
