These were the 10 largest Manhattan real estate loans in November

Two $350M leasehold loans were tied for top spot

From left: 1407 Broadway, 805 Third Avenue and 195 Broadway (Credit: Google Maps)
From left: 1407 Broadway, 805 Third Avenue and 195 Broadway (Credit: Google Maps)

The top 10 Manhattan loans recorded in November totaled $2.1 billion, a 60 percent drop from October. One building appeared in the top four twice, as the owners of the leasehold on 195 Broadway and the ground underneath it both took out big loans to finance their interests in the property.

1) Lease & Loan — $350 million
L&L Holding Company and partners secured a $350 million financing package from Germany’s Helaba for the leasehold interest in 195 Broadway. L&L previously owned a 5 percent stake in the 29-story office building with JPMorgan’s asset management arm, but the bank sold its interest in two deals valued at $800 million. L&L brought in Korea Investment & Securities and Samsung to acquire the remaining leasehold interest.

1) Shore lease — $350 million
Shorenstein Properties refinanced its interest in 1407 Broadway with a $350 million loan from Barclays, replacing a $270 million acquisition loan provided by Bank of America in 2015, when the San Francisco-based firm bought the leasehold interest from the Lightstone Group, Kamber Management and Solil Management for $330 million. Tenants at the 1.1 million-square-foot property include Knotel, Uber and Alex Apparel Group.

3) Cohen’s Crystal — $275 million
Citibank provided a $275 million refinancing for Cohen Brothers Realty’s 805 Third Avenue, a 31-story Midtown office tower known as the Crystal Pavilion. The new debt replaces a $165 million loan provided by Apple Bank in 2012. Occupants of the building’s 615,000 square feet in rentable office space include Kroll Bond Rating Agency, the YES Network, and Newsmax.

4) Lease & Loan, Part 2 — $242 million
Safehold, a ground-lease real estate investment trust controlled by iStar, took the ground beneath 195 Broadway for $275 million. New York Life Insurance provided the REIT $242 million for that transaction, according to property records.

5) Crossing over — $215 million
The developers behind the Essex Crossing megaproject landed a $215 million CMBS loan from JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs for the Essex at 125 Delancey Street, the complex’s primary mixed-use residential building. Leasing at the 26-story, 195-unit property began in January and the building is now fully leased. Half of the building’s units are designated as affordable.

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6) Lucida dreaming — $148 million
Vornado Realty Trust secured a $148 million refinancing from HSBC for the retail condominium at 151 East 85th Street on Lexington Avenue, as well as the rental portion of the building, known as the Lucida. Vornado acquired the retail and apartments from developers Extell Development and the Carlyle Group in 2010, and was reportedly looking to sell them for as much as $225 million in 2017.

7) The main Eventi — $140 million
LoanCore Capital provided a $140 million refinancing package for the 292-room Eventi Hotel at 851 Sixth Avenue, developed by DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners and JD Carlisle. The partners sold the luxury rental portion of the building, which is known as the Beatrice and occupies the top 29 floors of the 54-story tower, to Equity Residential for $280 million in 2012.

8) Church & Chase — $120 million
The Archdiocese of New York secured a $120 million mortgage from JPMorgan Chase for the ground under the Lotte New York Palace Hotel and a cluster of mansions known as Villard Houses, across Madison Avenue from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In 2017, the Archdiocese was reported to be seeking a $100 million mortgage to fund a compensation program for victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

9) Howard & Helaba — $100 million
Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) provided $100 million to the Howard Hughes Corporation for the parking lot at 250 Water Street, part of Howard Hughes’ South Street Seaport redevelopment. The developer, which recently changed CEOs and announced plans to refocus on its core business, has faced community backlash at the site over concerns about mercury contamination left over from a thermometer factory in the 1800s.

10) A helping Hana — $95 million
Caspi Development secured a $95 million senior construction loan and $50 million in mezzanine debt from South Korea’s Hana Financial Investment, taking the long-delayed luxury hotel project at 456 Greenwich out of bankruptcy. The senior tranche will be resold to global investors while the mezz debt will go to Korean firms, according to the Korean Economic Daily. The developers declared bankruptcy in April amid wrangling with the ground lease owner, the Ponte family, and former partner Mactaggart Family & Partners’ share in the project was later bought out.