Tishman Speyer has emerged victorious in its bid to secure a refinancing deal for the iconic Rockefeller Center — with some expensive strings attached.
The companies have secured a $3.5 billion commercial mortgage-backed securities loan from Bank of America and Wells Fargo, Crain’s New York first reported.
The deal is the largest CMBS transaction since April 2022, according to CoStar data, and is the largest issued ever for a single office asset.
The transaction will refinance $3 billion in remaining debt on the property, according to credit rating firm KMBR. It will also utilize $246.8 million as a reserve budget to cover rents and services to tenants and landlords, and $179.8 million in equity will be returned to investors.
The deal is a victory given the city’s difficult refinancing environment but comes at a price.
The new loan’s interest rate is 6.5 percent, higher than the 5.6 percent on the $1.7 billion mortgage the property’s owners took out nearly two decades ago, according to KBRA. The time constraints are also much shorter — while the initial loan was a 20-year term, the newly inked deal matures in just 5 years.
Rockefeller Center has taken a hit in the last few years, with net rental revenue 65 percent below 2019 levels, according to KMBR. But the site is outperforming another New York landmark office property, with 93 percent of the complex leased, compared to 86 percent in the Chrysler Building.
Tishman Speyer jointly acquired Rockefeller Center in a bankruptcy deal for $1.2 billion in 1995, along with Goldman Sachs, former Fiat head Gianni Agnelli, and Greek tycoon Stavros Niarchos.
The developer has pushed to make Rockefeller Center a distinct tourist destination, adding popular retailers and restaurants to the complex. A 2020 approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission permitted passageways on the lower level around the iconic ice skating rink to allow easier pedestrian access.
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