Prominent NYC skyscraper secures nearly $1.3B loan
NEW YORK — Developers of one of the city’s tallest new skyscrapers said Friday they had lined up a nearly $1.3 billion loan, sealing what experts called one of the biggest real estate financing deals since the economic crisis began last fall.
Coming amid the worst commercial real estate market in decades, the refinancing package for the Bank of America tower drew congratulations from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson. Real estate experts hailed the deal as a sign that the moribund market might be reviving.
“When you have a transaction that has this many zeroes after it, people take notice,” said Dennis M. Sughrue, a real estate attorney with Herrick, Feinstein LLP, which wasn’t involved in the deal. “It’s a singular building and a singular transaction, but it is a note of hope for a real estate market which is flat on its back.”
The 945-foot-tall tower in midtown Manhattan is partially occupied and is set to be finished next year. The glass-covered skyscraper boasts a prominent location off Bryant Park and a roster of green features that drew Al Gore’s environmentally friendly investment firm.
The building’s developer, The Durst Organization, says 98 percent of it has been leased — about 80 percent to Bank of America Corp.
Despite those attributes, it took about nine months to line up the new financing, Durst spokesman Jordan Barowitz said. The money will pay off a construction loan that came due last month and finance the remaining work, among other things, he said.
The refinancing lag didn’t affect construction of the 55-floor building, formally known as 1 Bryant Park, he said.
To real estate watchers, lenders’ reluctance to refinance the project symbolized how paralyzed the market had become.
“This is the kind of deal that would be done in a week at the height of the market,” said Dan Fasulo, a managing director at Real Capital Analytics, a real estate research and consulting firm that wasn’t involved in the deal.
Since the economy soured, some building owners around the country have fallen behind on mortgage payments after tenants left or went out of business.
Unable to refinance, some owners have sold marquee skyscrapers at cut-rate auctions. Boston’s tallest skyscraper, the John Hancock Tower, sold at auction in March for just over $20 million, with the buyers agreeing to take on $640 million in debt.
About half the new loan for the Bank of America tower comes from the bank itself, Barowitz said. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank declined to comment on the refinancing. Four other banks also are involved.
The project’s original financing included $650 million in tax-exempt bonds intended to help spur construction in lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Construction began in 2004 and has involved a number of accidents. In October 2007, a crane’s bucket toppled off the building and broke windows; eight people were slightly hurt as glass rained down.
Last August, a 1,500-pound glass panel fell 51 stories off the building and shattered on a walkway, leaving two people with minor injuries. Another panel plunged off the tower the next month, but no one was hurt. In November, a worker was seriously hurt after falling almost 40 feet when a scaffold collapsed, officials said.
Related News
Russian governor gives final approval to skyscraper for St. Petersburg's historic centerOctober 6th, 2009 Russian governor OK's Petersburg skyscraperST. PETERSBURG, Russia — The governor of Russia's second city of St.
Trina Solar receives loan of $304 million to help expand capacity over next three yearsSeptember 8th, 2009 Trina Solar receives $304 million loanNEW YORK — Trina Solar Ltd., a solar power company, said on Tuesday it received a loan of $304 million to expand capacity at its east campus location over the next three years. Loan proceeds will be used to fund capital expenditures for the rest of 2009 and pay back outstanding loans of about $80 million due on June 30.
Summary Box: Bank failures mounting, with deposit insurance fund dwindlingAugust 21st, 2009 Summary Box: Bank failures are mountingWAVE OF BANK FAILURES: Eighty-one banks have been closed by regulators so far this year, the most since 1992 at the height of the savings-and-loan crisis. The biggest this year: Colonial BancGroup Inc., with about $25 billion in assets.
WesBanco revises Q2 results lower due to bad real estate loanAugust 10th, 2009 WesBanco revises Q2 results lowerWHEELING, W.Va. —WesBanco Inc.
Authorities identify body found inside NYC skyscraper air duct as missing cleaning womanJuly 13th, 2009 NYC skyscraper body ID'd as missing cleaning womanNEW YORK — The New York City medical examiner has officially identified a body found in a Manhattan skyscraper as that of a missing cleaning woman. Police found the body of Eridania (ehr-ee-DAH'-nee-uh) Rodriguez in a 12th-floor air-conditioning duct on Saturday at a building near the World Trade Center site.
World Trade Center owners offer to partially fund 2nd skyscraper at ground zeroJuly 11th, 2009 WTC owners offer plan to finance 2nd skyscraperNEW YORK — The owners of ground zero have offered to partially fund the building of a second tower planned by a private developer. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says it will provide $1.2 billion for a skyscraper as long as developer Larry Silverstein raises more than $600 million for it first.
Police discover body hidden inside NYC skyscraper where cleaning woman vanished 4 days agoJuly 11th, 2009 Body found at NY skyscraper where woman vanishedNEW YORK — A body hidden inside a Manhattan skyscraper where a cleaning woman vanished four days ago was found Saturday morning. Police spokesman Paul Browne said the corpse was found just before 9 a.m., stuffed in an air conditioning duct in a utility room on the 12th floor of the tower where Eridania Rodriguez vanished Tuesday.
Sears Tower to undergo $350 million green remodel, including wind turbines, solar panelsJune 24th, 2009 Sears Tower to undergo $350M green remodelCHICAGO — The Sears Tower will undergo a $350 million green remodeling effort at the 110-story skyscraper, including wind turbines, green roofs and solar panels. Owners and architects said Wednesday that the plan will reduce electricity use in the building by 80 percent and save 24 million gallons of water a year.
Sallie Mae, Nelnet awarded 5-year government loan-servicing contractJune 18th, 2009 Sallie Mae awarded gov't loan-servicing contractNEW YORK — The Department of Education says Sallie Mae and three other companies were chosen to service parts of its $550 billion in outstanding federal student loans and future loans owned by the government. Reston, Va.-based Sallie Mae, officially called SLM Corp., is the country's biggest student lender.
UK government secures repayment from Iceland over collapsed bankJune 6th, 2009 UK gov't secures cash from Iceland over IcesaveLONDON — Iceland will reimburse the British and Dutch governments for compensation paid out to depositors of the failed Icesave Internet bank, the British Treasury said Saturday. In a statement, the Treasury said the British government will be repaid 2.3 billion pounds over the next 15 years with interest.
Gujarat NRE's Australian arm secures $50-mn loanMay 11th, 2009 KOLKATA - Gujarat NRE Minerals, the Australian subsidiary of metallurgical coal producer Gujarat NRE Coke, has secured a $50-million long-term bank loan facility with its parent standing as the guarantor, a company release said Monday. 'The facility was obtained to support and sustain mine developments that are in progress at the NRE No.1 Colliery and NRE Wongawilli Colliery (in Australia),' the statement said.
Winslet dares to shoot atop skyscrapersMay 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet got a bird's eye-view of New York when she did a photo shoot in her underwear and a pin-striped jacket on a skyscraper rooftop. The 33-year-old also wore a slinky little black dress and stylish four-inch heels for the photo shot and posed for a series of shots for fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar, reminiscent of the famous 'Lunchtime Atop A Skyscraper' photograph of grubby '30s builders eating lunch hundreds of feet above the city streets, reports the Daily Mail online.
World's biggest newsprint co. files for bankruptcyApril 18th, 2009 TORONTO - AbitibiBowater Inc., the world biggest newsprint producer and one of Canada's oldest companies, has filed for bankruptcy. The newsprint giant, which has been refused a rescue package by the Canadian government, faces a debt burden of $6 billion.
Farmer denied bank loan, commits suicide in OrissaMarch 1st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - A 35-year-old farmer committed suicide in Orissa after a bank allegedly denied him a crop loan, a newspaper report said here Saturday. Niranjan Das, a resident of Baladuan village in the coastal district of Keonjhar, was anxious over the past few days after a local bank refused to give him a crop loan of Rs.25,000, Oriya daily Sambad reported.
Sunderland sign Davenport on loanFebruary 2nd, 2009 LONDON - Sunderland added defender Calum Davenport to their squad on Monday. The West Ham United centre-back joins on loan until the end of the season, and will link up with two former team-mates in the Sunderland back four - George McCartney and Anton Ferdinand.
Loading ...