Metro Loft Set to Recap 180 Water Street for $335M

A month after a pre-foreclosure suit was filed at Metro Loft’s 180 Water Street conversion, Nathan Berman’s solution emerged.

Metro Loft is nearing a $335 million recapitalization of its building in the Financial District, the Commercial Observer reported. The transaction is expected to close within the next 45 days.

As part of the deal, Kevin Chisholm’s 60 Guilders and Alen Mamrout’s Sentry Realty are joining the development as equity partners, acquiring a combined 50 percent interest in the property. Additional debt will also be placed on the building.

A Newmark team including Adam Spies and Adam Doneger is arranging the recap, while Jordan Roeschlaub and Chris Kramer are arranging for the additional debt.

60 Guilders declined to comment to the Observer, while Sentry did not respond to the outlet. Metro Loft also declined to comment to The Real Deal.

Last month, the special servicer of a $265 million securitized loan filed a pre-foreclosure action against Metro Loft, an action preceded by a November KBRA report that revealed Metro Loft was nearing default on its mortgage.

After the pre-foreclosure action was filed, a representative of the developer said it would be “bringing in a new partner to pay off the debt.” The pre-foreclosure case is expected to be dropped when the recap is finalized.

Berman paid $450 million in 2017 to buy Vanbarton Group out of the rental property. That came three years after Metro Loft purchased a minority stake in the property and two years after the partners began a $100 million conversion.

The 573-unit, 460,000-square-foot conversion opened in 2017. Occupancy was at 98 percent as of KBRA’s November report and the average rent was $4,800. Amenities include a 1,200-square-foot courtyard and an indoor pool.

The recap is the second dose of pending good news for Berman’s firm in the last week. Madison Realty Capital is finalizing a loan greater than $700 million for Metro Loft and David Werner’s high-profile conversion of Pfizer’s former headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, construction financing that would represent a record for both the type of project and the lender.

As for 60 Guilders and Sentry — the real estate arm of American Exchange Group — it’s another notch in a frequent partnership. This year, the two companies purchased 1370 Broadway in Midtown South from Invesco Real Estate for $75.5 million.

They also bought a 26-story Art Deco office building at 292 Madison Avenue for about $90 million.

— Holden Walter-Warner