Sources: JVP Management Provides $1.2B Refi for Extell’s UWS Luxury Tower

Gary Barnett’s enormous luxury tower on the Upper West Side just got a similarly enormous round of financing. 

Barnett’s Extell Development landed a $1.2 billion loan to refinance 50 West 66th Street, a 69-story, 127-unit luxury condo being erected east of Lincoln Center, according to a source close to the deal 

CO reported on Wednesday that Extell Development secured $620 million to refinance the deal, an amount that was confirmed by property records and first reported by PincusCo. 

But the $620 million doesn’t reflect the mezzanine loan component and the future funding component tied to construction, which brings the official refinancing amount up to a whopping $1.2 billion, according to a source close to the deal.  

JVP Management – who previously supplied $207 million mezzanine financing as part of the debt package in 2022 —  provided the new $1.2 billion loan. The project’s prior lender was Bank OZK (OZK), which had supplied $800 million in construction financing two years ago. Bank OZK assigned at least $840 million in construction debt to JVP Management in the new round of financing, according to a source close to the deal.  

“We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Gary Barnett and Extell Development on their phenomenal project at 50 West 66th Street,” said Brannon Hamblen, Bank OZK president, in a statement to CO. “As usual, Gary’s execution was excellent from origination to the payoff of our loan. We look forward to future business opportunities with Extell.”

Marc Kwestel, Extell’s executive vice president of finance, served as the firm’s signatory, while JVP Management principal Anthony Shaskus signed for his firm, according to property records. No broker was listed on the transaction. 

Designed by architects Snøhetta with SLCE Architects, 50 West 66th Street is a glass-enclosed tower that stands 775 feet and covers nearly 570,000 square feet of built space. As construction topped out last month, Extell announced 50 percent of the building’s condo units have been sold, with the lowest at $4.6 million. 

But Barnett’s win has not come without some cost. Upper West Side residents have tried to halt construction for a building that would loom over a neighborhood largely defined by 20th century townhouses and low-lying residential walkups. 

CO previously reported the nonprofit City Club of New York sued Extell in April 2019 to stop construction, citing zoning violations and safety concerns. The New York State Supreme Court had ruled in the nonprofit’s favor in 2020 before the decision was overturned on appeal in 2021. 

Representatives for Extell and JVP Management did not immediately return requests for comment.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported the refinancing was $620 million. This amount reflected available data in property records. A source close to the deal informed CO of the entire refinancing loan, which is now reflected in the new headline and information. 

Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com