In the latest sign of his success building and leasing 7 World Trade Center shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Silverstein Properties President Larry Silverstein has refinanced the office tower and taken out $65 million in cash.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Silverstein is putting more debt on the property, which was built for $670 million, but thanks to its complete occupancy has swelled to a value of about $940 million.
7 WTC is almost entirely owned by Silverstein, and the latest refinancing includes $452 million in tax-exempt debt and $125 million in debt from JPMorgan Chase that will be sold off as bonds to investors. The Journal noted it is the latest remarkable chapter for a tower built speculatively in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks that charged rents between $50 and $70 per square foot, even as the Bloomberg administration pleaded with Silverstein to come down on that price for the sake of Lower Manhattan. [WSJ]