Cove Property secures $220M loan to buy 441 Ninth Ave.

Deutsche Bank is the lender on the Far West Side office property

Kevin Hoo and 441 Ninth Avenue on the Far West Side
Kevin Hoo and 441 Ninth Avenue on the Far West Side

Kevin Hoo’s Cove Property Group scored $220 million in financing for the acquisition of 441 Ninth Avenue, a large office building on Manhattan’s Far West Side.

Deutsche Bank [TRDataCustom] provided the loan, according to property records filed with the city late last week.

Cove Property partnered with hedge fund the Baupost Group to buy the 423,000-square-foot building from insurance firm EmblemHealth, which is also the tenant. EmblemHeath is slated to move out in the next few months.

In August, the partners signed a contract to pay $330 million for the property.

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The former warehouse building is located across the street from Brookfield Property Partners’ 1 Manhattan West development and a block away from the Related Companies‘ and Oxford Properties Group’s Hudson Yards.

Cove Property is reportedly planning to expand the structure by 150,000 square feet. The property, which is between West 34th and 35th streets, got an increased floor-to-area ratio in a city rezoning in 2005. Cove also has the option to buy building bonuses from the Hudson Yards Infrastructure Corporation. The plan is to attract tenants who want to be close to the megadevelopment, and may include converting portions of the ground floor to retail use.

The Ninth Avenue property is the second major purchase for Cove Property this year. In March, the firm partnered with pension fund Bentall Kennedy to buy a 26-story office building at 2 Rector Street for $225 million from Jared Kushner’s Kushner Companies.

Hoo declined to comment. Representatives from Deutsche Bank could not be immediately reached for comment.