RXR, TF Cornerstone Seek $4.8B in Financing for 175 Park

RXR and TF Cornerstone’s quest to finance its supertall at 175 Park Avenue has brought the developers to the doorstep of the incoming Trump administration.

The developers plan to apply for up to $4.84 billion in federal loans to help fund the Midtown East office and hotel tower, Business Insider reported. The property popped up on a list of transportation-related projects seeking federal money for transit infrastructure; private development within half a mile is eligible for the program.

The developers sent a draft letter of interest. The federal government is not bound to grant RXR and TFC’s request in full — or at all — but the developers are only planning on putting $550 million towards transit improvements in and around Grand Central Terminal.

The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing programs offer projects low-cost financing and payback periods starting at 35 years. There’s $30 billion in unused funds available.

The funds are administered by the Department of Transportation. RXR chief executive officer Scott Rechler said the team would be reaching out to the president-elect at the appropriate time.

The developers are seeking unique ways to finance the 1,575-foot-tall project because traditional lenders have backed away from office developments in recent years. Even if typical lenders — banks, life-insurance companies, debt funds — were around, financing a $6.5 billion project is a big ask.

For comparison, prominent office development One Vanderbilt pulled in a $1.5 billion construction loan in 2016, debt that came from a consortium of six lenders.

One reason RXR and TFC may still be looking for financing is because they haven’t secured an anchor tenant, a development that would give lenders more insight on how the property may perform.

The developers opened a leasing gallery for the project in October 2023. The 92-story project contains 2.5 million square feet of office space, in addition to a 200-room Hyatt hotel and 10,000 square feet of retail space.
— Holden Walter-Warner