Gansevoort Meatpacking scores $115M refi

The owner of the Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC hotel secured a $115 million refinancing from L Star Capital, an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, sources involved in the transaction told The Real Deal.
The 10-year commercial mortgage-backed securities loan has an 8 percent debt yield, and a source familiar with the transaction described it as the “miracle on Gansevoort.” The loan includes five years of interest-only payments.

The owners of the hotel, the Achenbaum family, planned to reposition the 11,000-square-foot retail space at the base of the 186-key hotel, sources said.

They also plan to invest in the hotel’s rooftop, which is a trendy sundowner hotspot for the West Side set.

Peter Weiss of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group was the sole broker on the transaction. He declined to comment.

The property, located at 18 Ninth Avenue between Little West 12th and 13th streets, was completed in 2004. The Achenbaums leased the land from Ira Drukier and Richard Born, of BD Hotels fame.

In general, New York’s hotel market is going through a challenging period, with revenue per available room (RevPar) on the downswing. Some executives believe, however, that the city’s hotel market is about to turn a corner.