SL Green, Vornado join forces at 280 Park

Manhattan’s two largest landlords are teaming up for the first time in a bid to take over 280 Park Avenue, the struggling Plaza District office property that’s seeking a capital infusion amid dwindling interest reserves. According to Crain’s, SL Green Realty and Vornado Realty Trust have combined their interests in the property’s two adjacent towers into a 50/50 joint venture that holds a total of $400 million in debt. The news comes one week after it was reported that owner Broadway Partners, which bought 280 Park Avenue with Investcorp for $1.2 billion at the height of the real estate boom, had hired Edgerock Realty Advisors to find new investors for the 1.2 million-square-foot property. Trepp data shows that Broadway and Investcorp have around $440 million in securitized debt outstanding there, with reserves having fallen to $36 million. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank recently vacated 340,000 square feet in the building, and two more large tenants are set to leave in the coming years, potentially setting the owners up for a crippling vacancy rate. [Crain’s]