Walton Street abandons plan to sell 237 Park, refis instead

Firm owns office tower in partnership with RXR Realty

From left: Jeffrey Quicksilver, 237 Park and Scott Rechler
From left: Jeffrey Quicksilver, 237 Park and Scott Rechler

Walton Street Capital abandoned plans to sell its 49 percent stake in 237 Park Avenue [TRDataCustom], according to sources familiar with the transaction. Instead, Walton and its partner RXR Realty refinanced the trophy office tower with a $850 million mortgage.

The new lenders are Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale, sources said. The loan replaces a $419.6 million CMBS mortgage overseen by U.S. Bank as trustee, property records indicate.

Cushman & Wakefield brokered the debt deal, sources say. The brokerage declined to comment, as did RXR and Walton. The lenders could not be reached for comment Sunday.

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RXR, led by Scott Rechler, and Walton, led by Jeffrey Quicksilver, bought the 21-story, 1.25 million-square-foot tower for $810 million in 2013 from a Lehman Brothers-controlled entity.

In March, Walton put its stake up for sale, with Rechler seeking a new equity partner and recapitalization of the building to roughly $1.4 billion, the New York Post reported.

Last year, the New York Presbyterian Hospital signed a 500,000-square-foot lease at the building, which was 98 percent leased as of March.