New York REIT lands $325M financing for 1440 Broadway

Beleaguered firm acquired Midtown building for $529M in 2013

1440 Broadway
1440 Broadway in Midtown (inset: Michael Happel)

Almost two years after entering contract to acquire 1440 Broadway, New York REIT closed on $325 million in financing for the Midtown office building.

The real estate investment trust bought the 25-story, 756,000-square-foot property, located near Times Square, from the Rockpoint Group and Monday Properties for $528.7 million in 2013, as The Real Deal reported.

The building’s tenants include Macy’s, which extended to an 11-year, roughly 200,000-square-foot lease in 2012, as well as clothing retailer Gap and pharmacy CVS.

It’s been a busy couple of months for New York REIT, which acquired 1440 Broadway when still under the control of Nicholas Schorsch’s American Realty Capital.

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Behind the story:
New York REIT
Rockpoint Group

The REIT was among the AR Capital assets acquired in August by investment firm Apollo Global Management, which recently announced a series of moves at New York REIT including shuffling the board of directors and tapping Eastdil Secured to advise on “potential strategic transactions” that may include a sale of the company.

New York REIT has faced mounting shareholder criticism of the company’s direction since two separate shareholders sent open letters to management in June. The Michael Happel-led REIT responded by announcing a $150 million share buyback plan and the marketing of “non-core” assets.

But another open letter by investor Jonathan Litt last week expressed more concerns, leading Apollo to appoint its co-founder Marc Rowan to the New York REIT board and start a search for an additional two independent directors. — Rey Mashayekhi