Vintage NYC Building Scores $430M Refi

The 675,000-square-foot, Class A property was built in 1909 and consists of two contiguous buildings near Union Square, Gramercy Park and Madison Square Park.

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

225-233 Park Avenue South

225-233 Park Avenue South

Orda Management Corp. has closed on $430 million in debt financing on 225-233 Park Avenue South in Manhattan. Newmark Knight Frank Capital Markets was Orda’s exclusive advisor in the debt placement.

The loan was structured as a 10-year, fixed-rate, interest-only loan. Barclays provided the financing, which replaced a previous $217 million loan from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System. The funding reportedly allowed ownership to recapture equity spent on a recent $135 million, 18-month capital improvement plan.

The 675,000-square-foot, Class A office property was built in 1909 and consists of two contiguous buildings near Union Square, Gramercy Park and Madison Square Park. It is currently nearly 100 percent leased, and the tenant roster includes Facebook, BuzzFeed and T. Rowe Price.

The property has a singular recent history. After the 9/11 attacks, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which had been located in the World Trade Center, immediately needed a new space, so a space was fitted out for them at the top of 225-233 Park Avenue South.

Jordan Roeschlaub

Jordan Roeschlaub

After PANYNJ committed to moving to 4 World Trade Center in 2015, Orda decided to completely reposition the asset, which now features three lobbies, a 13th-floor rooftop garden and adjacent glass pavilion, a 14th-floor garden terrace, a 4,000-square-foot glass-enclosed courtyard on the 19th floor, new mechanical systems, new elevators, and a large loading dock. In addition, the previous layers of paint on the exterior were taken down to the limestone to restore the buildings’ classic architectural look.

Jordan Roeschlaub led the NKF Capital Markets team, which included Daniel Fromm and Steven Sperandio, that brokered and structured the refinancing.

“It became clear in 2015 that the property was going lose PANYNJ, which was the major tenant, occupying more than 45 percent of the buildings, Roeschlaub told Commercial Property Executive“The $135 million capital improvement plan, he continued, “transitioned the asset from a tired, Class-B property with an average tenancy, to a newly improved property that offers the amenities, energy-efficient infrastructure and top-shelf interior space that a more recently developed Class-A building offers.”

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