Yeshiva University refinances five Manhattan buildings

Yeshiva University has taken out a $175 million, 10-year loan from the Kansas City-based UMB Bank to refinance five of the university’s educational buildings in Manhattan.

The debt takes the place of previous short-term loans coming due at the end of this fiscal year, a spokesperson for the school told the New York Observer. Located at 215, 245 and 253 Lexington Avenueand 2495 And 2520 Amsterdam Avenue, the properties count Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women among their tenants, according to public records cited by the Observer.

“As part of this financing, the university pledged several of its core assets located on the Wilf and Beren campuses as collateral, without affecting its core academic missions,” a spokesperson for the university told the paper. “The university continues to own an expansive and valuable real estate portfolio across three Manhattan campuses.”

The move follows Yeshiva’s 10-building, $72.5 million sale in May, and comes amid the institution’s ongoing struggle to recover from the loss of an estimated $105 million in former board member Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The school unloaded four Midtown office buildings in the winter of 2013 for just over $200 million. [NYO] — Julie Strickland