Taconic nabs $300M refi for Upper West Side life sciences hub

Two years after a $600 million recapitalization, Taconic Partners has closed another large financing deal at its planned life sciences hub on the Upper West Side.

An entity tied to Apollo Global Management provided Taconic and its partner Nuveen Real Estate with a $300 million loan to refinance their eight-story redevelopment at 125 West End Avenue, PincusCo first reported. 

The developers expect to complete the 400,000-square-foot project this year, YIMBY reported in November. Representatives for Taconic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Two years ago, Taconic landed $393 million in construction financing from Apollo and Oaktree Management. As part of the recapitalization, LaSalle Investment Management joined the project as a $207 million equity partner.

Occupying the full blockfront on West End Avenue between 65th and 66th streets, the building was occupied by ABC until early 2021. ABC parent the Walt Disney Company sold its Upper West Side campus to Silverstein Properties in 2018 for about $1 billion. Silverstein then sold a piece of that portfolio, including 125 West End, to Taconic and Nuveen for $230 million in 2019 The rest was sold to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development for about $930 million last year.

The developers are reportedly nearing the finish line on the property’s conversion to a life science and research laboratory. CBRE has been retained to lead marketing and leasing at the property, which will include a mechanical plant, a conference center, an outdoor roof terrace and other amenities.

Once used by the Chrysler Motor Company, the revamped property is part of a broader push by the city to attract life science tenants. 

The Eric Adams administration recently pledged $20 million for a biotechnology incubator at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The 50,000-square-foot development is expected to include office, research lab and programming spaces for biotech companies and startups.

Advocates have called on the city to ramp up its life sciences sector, rather than wait for it to develop organically. In 2016, former mayor Bill de Blasio started the LifeSci NYC initiative, which has since dedicated $1 billion to research and lab development in the city.

— Holden Walter-Warner