$135M Financing Deal Closes for 300 Park Avenue

August 30, 2010
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

The premier office tower at 300 Park Avenue in New York City did not have debt attached to it a few days ago, but it does now. Tishman Speyer Office Fund, owner of a 45.9 percent stake in the 773,300-square-foot building, has revealed the closing of the $135 million financing of the property, which currently has an appraised value of $725 million.

Located across from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, 300 Park Avenue first opened its doors in 1955 and underwent major renovations in 1998 and 2000. The 26-story building includes about 747,700 square feet of office space and 21,100 square feet of retail space. Colgate-Palmolive, occupying 503,100 square feet, is the lead tenant at 300 Park, which was 90.8 percent occupied as of June 30.

The loan, secured by a first mortgage on the property, as well as an assignment of leases and rents, is scheduled to mature on January 8, 2014 and features an option for a one-year extension. Tishman Speyer Office Fund walked away with net proceeds of $59 million and will use $8.1 million of the funds to pay down the United States REIT facility, leaving the rest to be held in a lender-controlled interest reserve to pay the interest costs under the United States REIT loan.

For the year ending June 30, 2010, Tishman Speyer Office Fund reported a post-tax accounting loss of approximately $16 million.