Trinity Place Holdings beats deadline with $168M refi at FiDi condo

Lender Macquarie Capital is investment arm of Australian firm pushing into US

From left: SERHANT CEO Ryan Serhant, 77 Greenwich Street, Trinity Place Holdings CEO Matthew Messinger and Macquarie Capital's Jackie Hamilton (77 Greenwich Street via Binyan Studios)
From left: SERHANT CEO Ryan Serhant, 77 Greenwich Street, Trinity Place Holdings CEO Matthew Messinger and Macquarie Capital's Jackie Hamilton (77 Greenwich Street via Binyan Studios)

Trinity Place Holdings has met its deadline to repay lenders at 77 Greenwich Street, securing financing so it can finish construction and sales at the trophy Financial District condominium.

The developer entered into an agreement Friday with Macquarie Capital, the investment arm of Australian financial services firm Macquarie Group, for a $166.7 million inventory loan, filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show. Sources told The Real Deal last week that the deal would cure senior and mezzanine loan defaults.

The new lender, Sydney-based Macquarie Group, is in the midst of an expansion into the U.S. Last week, the company announced it would purchase New York investment firm Central Park Group. Earlier this year, Macquarie closed on its acquisition of Waddell & Reed, a Kansas-based financial advisory.

Trinity said in filings that it will use the bulk of the proceeds from the Macquarie loan to pay the balance on Trinity’s construction loan from senior lender Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance.

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MassMutual had provided $190 million in 2017 to build the project. The debt was due to mature in January, but construction delays, slow sales and a lack of cash on hand put the developer in default of its obligations on three occasions.

MassMutual and Trinity’s mezzanine lender, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, had entered into forbearance agreements with the developer that were set to expire at the end of the month.

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Davidson Kempner’s $7.5 million mezzanine loan was amended and the lender extended an additional $22.8 million to Trinity, according to the company’s filings.

Macquarie’s inventory loan, which charges 7.25 percent to 9.25 percent interest depending on how quickly units sell, has a two-year term with a one-year extension option. It requires construction to be completed at the 40-story condo at 77 Greenwich Street by July 2022. The first sales deadline is in April 2023.

Sales at 77 Greenwich are being handled by celebrity broker Ryan Serhant and his eponymous brokerage. Serhant took over from the Marketing Directors last spring and rebranded the project “Jolie.” Under the terms of the inventory loan, Serhant can offer potential buyers sweeteners such as covering closing costs and credits for common charges, documents show — not that Trinity CEO Matthew Messinger is planning on giving discounts away.

“The loan from Macquarie gives us the flexibility to maximize the value of the asset in this vastly improving residential sales market,” he said in a statement. Messinger pointed to the reopening of international travel in November and companies’ plans to return to offices next year as tailwinds for sales.

Unit prices range from $1,538 to $3,057 per square foot and closings began this month. The tower also includes an elementary school and 7,500 square feet of retail.

“We are very selective and are incredibly excited to support the full sellout of this unique, mixed-use building,” said Jackie Hamilton, Macquarie Capital’s global co-head of real estate investing, in a statement.

Corrections: Davidson Kempner lent an additional $22.8 million to Trinity. This number was misstated in an earlier version of this story. Also, Serhant cannot offer buyers sweeteners worth 12 percent of the sale price because that figure includes brokerage fees and commissions, among other costs. The actual percentage is less.