Signature Bank Refis 777 Third With $155M Loan
By Andrew Coen December 13, 2022 11:05 am
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A joint venture between Sage Realty and The Travelers Companies has sealed a $155 million debt package to refinance an office property in Manhattan’s Grand Central neighborhood, Commercial Observer can first report.
Signature Bank provided the five-year loan with a five-year extension option on the JV’s 777 Third Avenue property. The financing will be used to repay an existing loan and fund future capital improvements at the 38-story tower, including improvements to the lobby.
Sage is the leasing and management arm of William Kaufman Organization, which has been landlord of 777 Third since building it in 1963.
“It’s a very challenging capital markets time, particularly for office in New York City, but I think that really speaks to the ownership and relationships that we’ve had within the market,” Boris Katsman, Sage’s chief financial officer, said. “We’ve had a long-lasting relationship with Signature, and they know us from an operator standpoint, a sponsor standpoint and they trust us and they were able to step up and expand that relationship.”
Located between 48th and 49th Streets, the 484,600-square-foot property is 96 percent leased. The property received three lease renewals this past June from law firm Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, recruiting firm Sheffield Haworth and Innovatus Capital Partners, a real estate and life sciences investor.
“I think having such a stable ownership and a stable tenant base within the property helped close this deal,” Katsman said. “I think occupancy played a very big role along with sponsorship and quality of the asset.”
The loan for 777 Third Avenue comes four months after Sage secured a $127.5 million debt package from Acore Capital to refinance 77 Water Street, a 52-year-old office tower in Lower Manhattan.
Signature Bank declined to comment.
Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.
