From left: SL Green President Andrew Mathias, 180 Maiden Lane, 280 Park Avenue and 3 Columbus Circle

SL Green Realty, the city’s largest landlord, has suddenly put a halt to its acquisition binge, Crain’s reported, and has turned its focus to filling the space it already owns.

Since the end of 2009 the firm has had a hand in many of the large office tower trades in Manhattan, bringing its portfolio to 34 towers and about 25.5 million square feet. SL Green even dabbled more heavily in retail properties and, for the first time, residential properties. Earlier this year, it assembled 49,000 square feet of retail space in Times Square with Jeff Sutton, and acquired an eight-building portfolio including 724 Fifth Avenue with Stonehenge Partners. Comments

The Bank of China has agreed to provide a five-year, $260 million loan to refinance 3 Columbus Circle, the glass-walled office tower where the Moinian Group narrowly skirted a takeover attempt by Stephen Ross’ Related Companies earlier this year. Moinian had been trying to renovate the 26-story building when he defaulted on his $250 million mortgage last summer and Related moved to try to wrest control through a foreclosure. The plan was to demolish the 700,000-square-foot structure and replace it with luxury condominiums and a Nordstrom department store. But SL Green Realty and Deutsche Bank came to Moinian’s rescue, helping Moinian to pay off Ross and take back the mortgage. TRD [more]

Stephen Ross and 3 Columbus Circle

Joseph Moinian has struck a deal to retain control of his 26-story office tower at 3 Columbus Circle, fending off a hostile takeover by developer Stephen Ross and his Related Companies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Ross had purchased the $250 million defaulted mortgage on the project last summer, planning to wrest control through a foreclosure before demolishing the existing structure and building a Nordstrom department store beneath luxury condominiums. But late last week, Moinian, with the help of SL Green Realty, paid off Ross to the tune of $278 million, taking back the mortgage and putting an end to the clash. [more]

Lender Deutsche Bank is not expected to accept the full payoff of the defaulted loan on 3  Columbus Circle by the end of the day, Crain’s reported. Developer Joseph Moinian bought 3 Columbus Circle, also known as 1775 Broadway, in 2004, refinanced it two years later with a $250 million loan, and then defaulted on the mortgage earlier this year. In September, Related Cos. bought the $250 million mortgage and moved to foreclose on the property, intending to destroy it and create a larger building. [more]

Developer Joseph Moinian reached an impasse in a high-profile battle to block Deutsche Bank and Related Cos. from foreclosing on his 3 Columbus Circle office tower and demolishing the property in favor of a new tower anchored by Nordstrom’s department store. Related Chairman Steve Ross and lawyers for Moinian squared off this morning in New York State Supreme Court, while the two executives sat impassively in the front row, watching what amounted to a legal sparring match with Judge Charles Ramos repeatedly injecting a wry sense of humor to keep the showdown from turning into a three-ring circus. [more]

Even as Joseph Moinian attempts in court today to stave off an attempt by the Related Companies to wrest control of 3 Columbus Circle, the developer is battling on another front at 72 Madison Avenue, which has just been hit with a foreclosure lawsuit, too. Alleging that Moinian missed multiple payments on his $22 million mortgage there, creditors filed to take back the 12-story office building. Moinian took out the mortgage in 2007, but ran into trouble when the economy worsened, cutting into his rental income at the property.
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From left: Joseph Moinian of the Moinian Group; 3 Columbus Circle; Stefan Krause, CFO of Deutsche; and Stephen Ross, CEO of Related

The Moinian Group, led by developer Joseph Moinian, filed a $200 million suit against Deutsche Bank and the Related Companies, alleging the companies engaged in a predatory scheme to take over his financially troubled office building at [more]

From left: Joseph Moinian of the Moinian Group; 3 Columbus Circle; Stefan Krause, CFO of Deutsche; and Stephen Ross, CEO of Related

The Moinian Group, led by developer Joseph Moinian, filed a $200 million suit against Deutsche Bank and the Related Companies, alleging the companies engaged in a predatory scheme to take over his financially troubled office building at [more]

SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, 3 Columbus

The Moinian Group has struck a deal with SL Green to recapitalize its stake in 1775 Broadway, recently renamed 3 Columbus Circle, a 768,565-square-foot office tower on Eighth Avenue between 57th and 58th streets, the firms announced today. The deal, which includes a standby mortgage commitment and a possible future investment agreement, will free up funds for Moinian, who defaulted on a $250 million mortgage on the building in March. Moinian, who will keep roughly 51 percent of the building while handing over a 49 percent stake to SL Green, is said to be [more]

Embattled developer Joseph Moinian is hoping SL Green Realty Trust will come to the rescue at 1775 Broadway, the distressed, 26-story office tower that he’s about to lose to the Related Companies if the developer completes its bid to buy the mortgage and foreclose on the property, also known as 3 Columbus Circle. Sources told the Post that Moinian is negotiating a deal with SL Green to lend him enough money to pay off the $250 million mortgage, complete renovations and make tenant improvements. The building is currently only 16 percent occupied, but a deal with SL Green would also likely mean a major new tenant: the William Morris agency. The new tenant would sign a non-disturbance agreement with Moinian in an attempt to block a takeover by Related, which plans to tear down the existing structure and replace it with a new one to house the city’s first Nordstrom department store. [Post]

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