Bromley Lands $163M Refi For Flatiron Office Building

Bromley Companies reeled in a refi for its Flatiron District office building, home to a roster of tech tenants.

A joint venture between Helaba Bank and DekaBank provided the $163 million fixed-rate, interest-only loan for 122 Fifth Avenue, according to Walker & Dunlop. The fresh financing replaces a $170 million loan from real estate finance and investment management firm PCCP.

A Walker & Dunlop team including Aaron Appel, Jonathan Schwartz and Keith Kurland arranged the loan on behalf of the landlord.

The refinancing follows a $107 million capital improvement program that transformed the landmarked 278,000-square-foot property into a loft-style Class A office building. That investment appears to be paying off. Microsoft and fintech firm Chime anchor the building under long-term leases.

Built in 1900, the 10-story building between West 17th and 18th streets has been owned by Bromley since 1979. In 1987, Barnes & Noble moved its headquarters to the 300,000-square-foot building, where it remained for more than three decades.

After the bookseller was acquired by hedge fund Elliott Management Corp in 2019, it opted not to renew the headquarter’s lease, prompting the renovation project to upgrade the entire building, including the addition of modern amenities and an 18,700-square-foot roof deck.

The Flatiron District, part of the Midtown South submarket, has remained one of Manhattan’s more resilient submarkets, buoyed by tech and financial tenants. Year-to-date easing activity in Midtown South totaled 7.2 million square feet, up 69 percent from the prior year, per CBRE. The availability rate is 19.2 percent, down 3.7 percent from a year ago.