GFP Lands $87M Refi for Manhattan Office Tower

GFP Real Estate has landed an $86.5 million refinancing loan for 515 Madison Ave., a 350,000-square-foot office building in Manhattan. Apple Bank provided the note.

As part of the transaction, GFP acquired a minority interest in the property owned by ATCO, bringing its ownership stake to 100 percent. Newmark Senior Managing Director Paul Talbot represented the firm in securing the financing.

The 10-year, floating-rate permanent loan replaces an existing $120 million mortgage obtained in 2012, which was subsequently paid down to $81 million. Wells Fargo Bank originated that note, set to mature at the beginning of this year, Yardi Matrix information shows.

GFP also uses the property as its headquarters. The building was 99 percent leased at the time of the deal, with tenants including Encore Physical Therapy and Longacre Asset Management.

The office loan originations increased 181 percent year-over-year in the third quarter of last year, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report. Quarter-over-quarter growth totaled 67 percent, underscoring a recovery that mirrors broader shifts in office real estate trends.

DuMont Building, up close

Located within the borough’s Plaza district, the 42-story high-rise is close to Rockefeller Center and less than 2 miles from the Empire State Building.

Built in 1932, the property is also known as the DuMont Building and was designed by John H. Carpenter. The tower initially had a part in the first television broadcast of Allen DuMont’s experimental station.

The building underwent upgrades in 2009, including entrance and lobby renovations. The LEED-certified high-rise has floorplates ranging from 3,956 to 16,346 square feet, along with 8,000 square feet of first-floor retail space.