Bromley Cos. Lands $163M for Manhattan Office Landmark
Two banks issued the fixed-rate note.
The Bromley Cos. has secured a $163.4 million refinancing loan for 122 Fifth Ave., a 278,000-square-foot Class A office building in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. Helaba Bank and DekaBank issued the fixed-rate, interest-only note in a transaction brokered by Walker & Dunlop.
Proceeds retire an existing $170 million loan issued by PCCP in 2021. Walker & Dunlop intermediated that transaction as well.
In the third quarter of this year, commercial and multifamily loan originations increased by 36 percent year-over-year and 18 percent quarter-over-quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey. Mortgages for office properties went up 181 percent when compared to 2024 and 67 percent from the second quarter of this year.
A LEED-worthy restoration
Originally completed in 1899 by real estate developer Henry Corn after the plans of architect Robert Maynicke, the property initially housed mercantile firms, publishers and manufacturers. Bromley acquired the asset in 1979 for $1 million, according to Yardi Matrix information, the firm’s first purchase in New York City.
With 27,900-square-foot floorplates across 10 stories, the mid-rise includes retail spaces on the first and second floors that amount to 28,000 square feet. Microsoft and Chime anchor the property that also has Parachute Home, Pandora and Levain Bakery on its roster. Microsoft occupies 150,000 square feet on floors six through 10.
The office building underwent several renovations over the past half century. The most recent one, a $107 million capital improvement program, completed in 2023.
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The upgrades, carried out by Omnibuild and STUDIOS Architecture, aimed to modernize the interiors while preserving the historical facade. Improvements included a new lobby, MEP systems with advanced air filtration and passenger elevators as well as a rooftop pavilion, helping the property achieve LEED Gold certification.
The building at 122 Fifth Ave. rises between West 17th and 18th streets, a block away from Union Square and five blocks south of the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park.
Walker & Dunlop Senior Managing Directors Aaron Appel, Jonathan Schwartz, Keith Kurland and Adam Schwartz, together with Managing Director Jordan Casella, Associate Director Christopher de Raet and Analyst Jack Krentzman, arranged the financing for Bromley.
Manhattan office market still king
As of October 2025, Manhattan ranked highest in the U.S. for average office listing rates, with $67.97 per square foot, down 0.7 percent year-over-year but more than double the national $32.81, according to a recent Yardi Matrix report. Meanwhile, the borough had the lowest vacancy rate in the nation at 13.0 percent, reflecting a 370-basis-point drop when compared to last year.
Manhattan’s robust office market continues to fuel numerous financing and refinancing deals. Just a few days ago, Savanna obtained $510 million to refinance its 680,000-square-foot, 34-story office property at 5 Bryant Park.
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