McGraw-Hill Building’s $140M Loan Hits the Market
By Cathy Cunningham February 22, 2023 3:28 pm
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The $140 million performing loan on the McGraw-Hill Building at 330 West 42nd Street is being marketed for sale, Commercial Observer has learned.
The 33-story landmark property was once home to McGraw Hill publishing company. It recently underwent a significant repositioning and now sits vacant, according to an offering memorandum (OM) viewed by CO.
The property’s lender, Signature Bank (SBNY), has engaged Newmark’s Dustin Stolly, Jordan Roeschlaub, Daniel Fromm, Adam Spies and Doug Harmon to market the floating-rate debt, which has an outstanding balance of $140 million — or $241 per square foot — and matures in May 2024, per the OM.
The tower is owned by Deco Tower Associates —an ownership entity comprising a group of private investors—and is asset-managed by Resolution Real Estate, sources said.
Resolution started a $120 million gut renovation and repositioning of the historic Art Deco building starting in 2020, and MDeaS Architects was hired to design a structure more fitting of today’s tenants’ needs. The refurbishment included open office floor plans and outdoor terraces, New York Yimby reported.
By October 2022, the New York Post reported that a multifamily conversion was on the cards, with ownership mulling turning the building’s upper floors into luxury rentals.
Designed by architects Raymond Hood and J. André Fouilhoux in the 1920s, the 580,000-square-foot building was erected in 1931 as McGraw-Hill’s headquarters, and has been home to several noteworthy tenants over the years, including Marvel Comics. In fact, it’s where Stan Lee wrote Spiderman, the Post reported.
When McGraw Hill moved to 1221 Avenue of the Americas in the 1970s medical insurance company Group Health Inc . purchased the building, giving it a new moniker in the GHI Building. It achieved landmark status in 1979.
The $140 million loan now up for sale has a blended rate of 6.59 percent and a default rate of 24 percent, according to the OM.
Officials at Deco Tower Associates couldn’t be reached for comment. Resolution officials declined to comment.
Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com.
