Greenburger turns condos into rentals at 50 West, lands $95M refi

Francis Greenburger’s Time Equities landed a $95 million loan from First Republic Bank to refinance its Financial District skyscraper development 50 West Street.

The mortgage is secured by 46 unsold units in the 191-unit tower. Greenburger said the company plans to keep the apartments, which are scattered throughout the building, as rentals for at least a few years, believing that they will appreciate in value.

He insisted that the decision to keep some pads as rentals had nothing to do with a slowing luxury condominium market, but was the plan from the start. Time Equities paid off the tower’s $400 million construction loan in the spring, Greenburger added.

Sales at the 64-story tower launched in July 2014. Greenburger said about 130 units have sold to-date.

Over the past year, several high-rise developers have refinanced certain units in condo projects. In March, Tessler Development landed a $164 million loan on unsold units at 172 Madison Avenue and Ian Bruce Eichner is reportedly on the hunt for a $180 million mortgage at 45 East 22nd Street. But while these so-called condo inventory loans get paid off as more units sell, Greenburger’s latest mortgage is more similar to a traditional multifamily loan because the units will be rentals.