From left: SL Green CEO Marc Holliday, 1515 Broadway, the Graybar Building

It has been “a very busy, satisfying seven weeks,” for SL Green Realty, CEO Marc Holliday said in a conference call with investors today to discuss the company’s fourth-quarter earnings results. The company last spoke to investors at its annual conference Dec. 7.

SL Green posted a $5 million loss for the quarter yesterday, down from
a $76 million gain for the fourth quarter of 2008, but Holliday was
nonetheless optimistic about 2010′s prospects.
Strong leasing activity will better-position the city’s office landlords to attract tenants without the generous concessions seen in 2009, he said.
“The general consensus amongst owners is that we’re going to
see concessions tighten up this year,” Holliday said, adding that
security deposits and lease lengths were likely to increase.
The city’s largest landlord saw average starting rents fall by
30 percent to $33.05 per square foot in the fourth quarter, pushed
downward in part by a 227,782-square-foot lease renewal by BMW of
Manhattan at 555 West 57th Street. Starting rents averaged $47.31 per
square foot in the third quarter of 2009. [more]

While many of the money center banks are sitting on the sidelines when it comes to providing mortgage financing, Chinese, German and European financial institutions and insurance companies are dipping their feet into the water to provide much needed financing for commercial real estate. Foreign and domestic lenders and insurance companies prefer to lend to real estate investment trusts. Later this month, a syndicate led by Westdeutsche ImmobilienBank is expected to close on a $135 million loan on the 25-story office tower at 300 Park Avenue. The 15 floors of the tower serve as the world headquarters for Colgate Palmolive. The borrowing entity is controlled by Tishman Speyer Properties. As reported in The Real Deal today, a syndicate of banks led by the Bank of China, provided SL Green Realty with a five-year, floating rate mortgage for $475 million for the landmark Times Square office tower at 1515 Broadway. The new mortgage replaces the former $625 million mortgage that was due to mature in November 2010.  More
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