RFR Saved From UES Foreclosure, For Now: The N.Y. Deal Sheet
The sale of an RFR loan on an Upper East Side building has given the embattled Manhattan owner respite from a pending foreclosure.
Meadow Partners bought a $10.5M loan backed by three condo units at 404 E. 76th St. and the adjacent building at 1460 First Ave. from Blackstone Group, PincusCo reported.
But Blackstone didn’t make the initial loan. RFR got the cash from Signature Bank in 2015, with Blackstone acquiring the debt after Signature Bank failed in 2023 and the FDIC auctioned off an equity stake in its loan books.
Blackstone started preforeclosure proceedings against RFR in November after it defaulted on the loans, The Real Deal reported. The foreclosure case was discontinued last month, and the sale of the loan closed this month. It’s unclear if Meadow Partners can or will try to resume foreclosure proceedings.
RFR has had a bumpy ride over the past year. It lost control of the Chrysler Building after a prolonged legal battle, and it has faced other foreclosure threats elsewhere in Manhattan, such as at the 140K SF office building at 90 Fifth Ave.
But Aby Rosen’s firm has also scored some wins. It sold 522 Fifth Ave., a 23-story office building on the corner of 44th Street spanning almost 600K SF, to Amazon in May and landed a $1.2B CMBS refinancing deal for the Seagram Building in February.
TOP FINANCING
Charney Cos. and Tavros scored a $525M construction loan for a 55-story skyscraper in Long Island City. The building spans 24-19 Jackson Ave. and 45-03 23rd St. in Court Square and is being developed in partnership with Incoco Capital. Madison Realty Capital is providing $425M of the funding, while Kushner and its capital partner OneIM are providing $100M. The developers have been assembling the properties for the development since 2016, buying seven contiguous townhouse properties and air rights from two other properties plus an adjacent parcel in 2022. The developers are planning a 636-unit condo property, which will offer studios, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units. Construction is expected to start this month and complete in spring 2028. A structured finance team from Greystone Capital Advisors advised the sponsors in arranging the financing.
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Merchants Capital secured $231M in financing to renovate Eastchester Gardens, a $391M New York City Housing Authority Permanent Affordability Commitment Together project in The Bronx. The property, which is one of the oldest public housing developments in NYC and the Bronx’s second-oldest, will be placed on the National Register of Historic Places — a move that will allow the renovations to receive federal historic tax credits. All units will be restricted to individuals at 60% of area median income. The financing also includes a $221.7M, 30-year Freddie Mac CME permanent loan. The PACT partner team developing Eastchester Gardens is MDG Design + Construction, Infinite Horizons and Wavecrest Management. Construction is underway and expected to complete within the next few years.
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Vornado Realty Trust and Stellar Management netted a $675M CMBS loan to refinance Independence Plaza, a three-building, 1,328-unit multifamily complex in Tribeca, Multi-Housing News reported. The new five-year loan retires a $675M loan issued in 2018 by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Deutsche Bank. The previous loan was due to mature in July, Commercial Observer reported. Independence Plaza’s three buildings, spanning 1.4M SF, are located at 40 Harrison St., 80 North Moore St. and 310 Greenwich St. Independence Plaza was built under the Mitchell-Lama program and purchased by Stellar Management in 2003, with Vornado buying a 58% stake in 2012. Ownership wants to add a further 900 units to Independence Plaza, Crain’s New York Business previously reported, but the building also lost 11% of its value when a March appraisal put its worth at just shy of $1.2B.
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Abro Management signed a $58M refi deal for two Manhattan multifamily buildings totaling 188 units, PincusCo reported. Ladder Capital provided the financing for the properties, an 86-unit East Village building at 225 E. 6th St. and a 102-unit Kips Bay building at 425-429 Third Ave. The financing replaces a previous $63.1M loan from Flagstar Bank.
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The McSam Hotel Group received a $48M construction loan for a hotel it is developing at 143-02 135th Ave. close to John F. Kennedy airport, PincusCo reported. Webster Bank provided the financing, which will fund the development of Sam Chang’s 129K SF, 351-room hotel project. The financing also retires a $10.5M loan from Jemm Capital Partners.
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Wildflower has refinanced an industrial property close to JFK airport, Commercial Observer reported. The $48M loan for the last-mile logistics facility at 153-44 South Conduit Ave. came from Barings. The 117K SF building, which opened in 2023, is known as the JFK Conduit Logistics Center and is fully available for lease.
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Gotham Organization has signed a $460M refinancing deal with the NYS Housing Finance Agency for 11 Hell’s Kitchen properties spanning 898 residential units, PincusCo reported. The properties include rental condos at 550 W. 45th St. and 530 W. 45th St. The loan replaces a previous $520M sum from the same lender.
TOP LEASES
A joint venture between Metropolitan Realty Associates and Nuveen scored a big lease at Hub LIC, their 343K SF building at 47-25 34th St. in Long Island City, Commercial Observer reported. The New York City Department of Transportation signed a deal for its 212K SF space in the building, which it uses for office space and vehicle and equipment storage. The building, which the joint venture purchased in 2016 for around $89M, is roughly 78% leased. John Reinertsen, Yun Park, Doug Holowink, Josh Leibowitz and Michael Lee of CBRE repped the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services, which is responsible for arranging leases for city agencies. Newmark’s Scott Klau and Ryan Gessin repped building ownership.
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The New York City School Construction Authority has renewed its 75K SF office lease at Atlas Capital Group’s 30-30 47th Ave. in Long Island City, Commercial Observer reported. Other tenants in the 10-story, 1.2M SF building known as The Factory include toy company Cardinal Industries and contracting firm TEI Group. The SCA represented itself in the deal, while Brian Waterman, Jordan Gosin and Alex Rosenblum of Newmark repped Atlas Capital Group.
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Social club Lightning Society signed a 19K SF lease at Chetrit Organization’s 45 Howard St., The Real Deal reported. The new club, which has the backing of executives from SoHo House, Burning Man and WeWork, will take up four floors of the building plus its rooftop terrace, replacing a museum called The House of Cannabis. Lightning Society was represented by Newmark’s Aaron Ellison, and the landlord was repped by Newmark’s Howard Kesseler Jr., Commercial Observer reported.
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The Feil Organization inked a 5K SF extension with the Foundry Learning Center at 4 Park Ave., bringing the special education school’s footprint in the building to almost 21K SF. The lease brings the building, a mixed-use property with 364 residential rental units that was previously the Vanderbilt Hotel, to 100% occupancy for its retail offerings. Andrew Wiener and Robert Fisher repped Feil in-house. Colliers’ Clint Dewey repped the Foundry Learning Center.
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New York Cancer & Blood Specialists signed an 11K SF lease at 210 E. 86th St., taking the sixth through ninth floors, Commercial Observer reported. Asking rents were in the mid-$70s per SF. Schuckman Realty’s Ari Malul repped the tenant. Avison Young’s John Ryan and Peter Gross repped the landlords, Perlbinder Realty.
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Commercial real estate platform Surmount has signed a deal to relocate to 30K SF at SL Green Realty’s 1185 Sixth Ave., Commercial Observer reported. The firm, which is the result of a merger between NNN Pro, STNL Advisors and United Global Development, is moving from a space around half that size at 275 Madison Ave. Asking rents in the new location is $85 per SF. Newmark’s David Falk, Jason Greenstein and Justin Pollner repped Surmount. Ownership was represented in-house by Howard Tenenbaum and Gary Rose as well as by Newmark’s Brian Waterman, Scott Klau, Brent Ozarowski, Kevin Sullivan and David Waterman.
TOP SALES
Brooklyn-based rehabilitation and nursing center Citadel Senior Housing acquired 2550 Webb Ave. in the Bronx for $45M, Crain’s New York Business reported. The seller of the Fordham Manor neighborhood elder care facility was The New Jewish Home, which ran the 295-unit facility for 55 years.
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The family office of Skyline Developers’ Orin Wilf has sold the office portion of 9-11 West 54th St. to Interlaken Capital and philanthropic group the William R. Berkeley Foundation for $38M, Commercial Observer reported. The sale price is almost $17M below the price that the six-story building last sold for in 2019, Crain’s reported.
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A 24-unit multifamily development project in Prospect Heights has traded hands for $13.5M, Crain’s reported. Lender Santander Bank had brought preforeclosure proceedings against the property at 392 Saint Marks Ave., PincusCo reported. The seller was Mordechai Klein and the buyer was Joseph Goldberger. Amalgamated Bank provided an $8.8M acquisition loan to Goldberger.
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Civic Builders shelled out $15.9M for a school property in the Bronx’s Westchester Square neighborhood, PincusCo reported. The seller of the building at 1539 Williamsbridge Road was Anthony Martello. Civic Builders signed a 45-year ground lease as the landlord with education-focused social services nonprofit East Side House, and Haven Charter School signed a sublease deal with East Side House. Civic Builders and Haven Charter School together borrowed $23.7M for the school’s acquisition and build-out.
CORRECTION, JUNE 23, 2 P.M. ET: A previous version of this article misstated what type of lease agreement the NYC DOT had signed at 47-25 34th St.. This story has been updated.
