APF Properties Defaults on $155M Loan at 28 West 44th Street

Even APF Properties’ own headquarters isn’t safe from distress.

APF has defaulted on a $155 million loan tied to its Midtown office building at 28 West 44th Street, where it houses its own offices, according to The Real Deal, which first reported the news.

Kenneth Aschendorf, co-founder of APF, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 22-story office building between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas, known as the Club Row Building, is home to tenants including recruiting agency Noor Staffing and commercial music production company JSM Music.

But the Club Row Building began to suffer after coworking firm WeWork (WE), a previous tenant, filed for bankruptcy in November 2023 and was forced to exit hundreds of its leases, including at 28 West 44th Street.

WeWork’s sudden departure left two floors of the 371,000-square-foot building empty, leaving APF struggling to fill the space in the older property, which hasn’t been renovated since 2014, TRD reported.

APF also owns several other buildings where WeWork was a tenant, such as 1156 Avenue of the Americas, 25 West 45th Street and 183 Madison Avenue. The coworking firm has since vacated spaces at those properties as well, and APF has faced foreclosure at two of them, according to TRD.

At 25 West 45th Street, APF is currently in foreclosure proceedings after defaulting on a $70 million loan last year, TRD reported. Meanwhile, at 183 Madison Avenue, APF was able to pay off a $173 million loan and avoid foreclosure, according to the outlet.

APF also faced distress at its 10-story office building at 24 West 57th Street, but it was able to sell the 110,000-square-foot property to an unknown buyer earlier this month for $67.2 million, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.