South Korea’s IGIS is lender on Extell’s 570 Fifth Ave

A South Korean real estate investment firm is the new lender on Extell Development’s proposed skyscraper at 570 Fifth Avenue in Midtown.

South Korea-based IGIS Asset Management recently acquired a $185 million loan on the property from JPMorgan Chase, according to city records first reported by PincusCo.

The loan on the 13-parcel site at the corner of 46th Street in the Diamond District closed July 10, with IGIS USA LLC signing for the entity. It was recorded July 31. The parcels include 2-8 West 47th Street; 10 West 47th Street; 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 and 13 West 46th Street; 562 Fifth Avenue; 570 Fifth Avenue; 574 Fifth Avenue; 564 Fifth Avenue and 572 Fifth Avenue.

JPMorgan Chase most recently held the debt. The balance was $185 million, down from $340 million in 2019.

Seoul-based IGIS Asset Management has the highest market value of any real estate investment firm in Korea with 250 funds and $15.4 billion of real estate equity invested, according to its website. In New York, it was one of nearly a dozen lenders on a $650 million loan for 20 Times Square, a property that later ran into trouble.

On 46th Street, Gary Barnett’s Extell filed permits in 2021 for an 1,100-foot supertall, complementing the firm’s nearby properties: the 500-foot International Gem Tower office building and a planned 534-key hotel along West 48th Street.

Two options were presented in the filings: a 1.5 million-square-foot residential and hotel tower with 1,524 hotel rooms and 468 apartments, or an 860-foot-high building with 1.4 million square feet of office, The Real Deal reported. The project would also include about 77,000 square feet of retail and a 20,000-square-foot event space.

Demolition started at 570 Fifth this year, and construction is expected to take five years, according to New York Yimby.