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Challenges within the retail industry and the slowdown in the office sector are taking a toll on the CMBS market, which has many experts worried as $61B in CMBS debt is set to mature within the next six months.
CMBS loan issuance was down 34% in the first quarter, spurred by new risk retention rules that took effect in December. The new rules aim to tighten commercial lending standards.
In March, roughly $6.26B in CMBS loans were issued, with office and retail properties anchoring the most debt. New York, Los Angeles and Houston were the top three cities where these loans closed, according to recent Trepp data. Following are six of the largest CMBS loans issued last month and a bit about the properties that anchor them.
Willis Tower; Chicago
Amount: $1.02B
Close Date: March 30
Loan Term: 24 months
Known as Chicago’s tallest tower, Willis Tower will soon undergo a $1B refinancing project spearheaded by owner Blackstone Group in the largest refinancing of a commercial property in Chicago’s history. Goldman Sachs is the lead lender on the new loan, which is being arranged by Eastdil Secured's Steven Livaditis and Jeff Altenau.
350 Park Ave.; New York City
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Amount: $100M
Close Date: March 21
Loan Term: 121 months
New York experienced robust loan issuance activity in Q1, with $1.4B in new CMBS loans for the quarter, more than $900M of which were anchored to office locations. Owned by Vornado, 350 Park Ave. is a 30-story office building on the west side of Park Avenue. The $100M loan closed as part of a $400M package from Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank to refinance the 538K SF tower.
Lafayette Centre; Washington, DC
Amount: $82.5M
Close Date: March 21
Loan Term: 121 months
This three-building, 789K SF central business district office plaza was recently acquired by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC. The fund partnered with affiliates of Beacon Capital Partners to acquire the tower and Crystal City’s Pentagon Center, a 912K SF two-building complex leased by the General Services Administration. Beacon had been looking to sell the building in 2015 after signing a 112k SF lease with MedStar.
Hilton Hawaiian Village; Honolulu
Amount: $80M
Close Date: March 29
Loan Term: 120 months
Park Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Hilton Worldwide Holdings, is in talks to expand Hilton Hawaiian Village by adding on a new hotel or time-share tower to the resort. The hotelier financed a loan for several securities that amounted to a total $1.275B. This revamp would include a new hotel, time-share or residential development at the properties “Ala Moana Land Parcel.” Hilton Hawaiian Village is built atop 22 acres with seven towers and 145K SF of retail. Within the past half-decade the hotel has undergone $200M in renovations.
Moffett Gateway; Sunnyvale, California
Amount: $80M
Close Date: March 29
Loan Term: 126 months
Last July, Google leased all of Moffett Gateway’s 612K SF of Class-A office space. The $180M project has two seven-story office towers, a parking structure, a fitness center and a green roof. The project was developed by Jay Paul Co. Google continues to dominate space in Silicon Valley, announcing the development of its first ground-up 595K SF campus in Mountain View’s North Bayshore.
229 West 43rd St. Retail Condo; New York City
Amount: $80M
Close Date: March 31
Loan Term: 120 months
This retail condo at the base of the former New York Times HQ was purchased by Kushner Cos. for $295M in 2015. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law, is still tied to the retail condo despite having stepped down as head of the company to avoid any conflict of interest. Last October the property was refinanced with a $370M loan package that included a $285M senior note from Deutsche Bank and $85M in mezzanine loans from SL Green Realty. Kushner remains the guarantor of the $285M loan.
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