#4 Real Estate These were the 10 largest Manhattan real estate loans in October

    These were the 10 largest Manhattan real estate loans in October

    By
    Robert Annenberg
    -

    1200-top-manhattan-loans-life quest livingThe top 10 Manhattan loans recorded in October totaled $2.1 billion, a slight increase from September. While half of the top 10 loans were refinancing deals, the two biggest loans of the month were for acquisitions of the Terminal Stores warehouse and an Upper West Side apartment complex.

    1) More stores at Terminal Stores – $652 million

    L&L Holding Company and Normandy Real Estate Partners secured a $652 million acquisition loan from Blackstone Group for their revamp of the landmarked Terminal Stores warehouse in West Chelsea. After adding a 100,000-square-foot glass penthouse and a “Chelsea Market-style” retail corridor, the companies are projecting an exit price of $1.8 billion in four years. The acquisition also included $100 million in equity from the California State Teachers Retirement System.

    2) West Side 33-Story – $260 million

    Dermot Company and Dutch pension fund PGGM landed a $260 millionacquisition loan for the apartment complex at 101 West End Avenue on the Upper West Side. The loan, provided by German state-owned bank Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba), replaced a 2013 mortgage from Fannie Mae and the Bank of New York Mellon while adding $137.7 million in new financing. The 503-unit, 33-story property is located at the corner of West 64th Street.

    3) Mitsubishi meets Mitsui – $203 million

    The Rockefeller Group landed a $202.5 million loan from Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank for the construction of a condominium tower in NoMad. Rockefeller, which is owned by Japan’s Mitsubishi Estate Company, acquired the assemblage at 30-32, 34 and 36 East 29th Street from Extell Development last year and plans to build a 46-story, 123-unit building on the site.

    4) Sitt & Sutton in Soho – $200 million

    Jeff Sutton’s Wharton Properties and Joseph Sitt’s Thor Equities refinanced 530-536 Broadway with a floating rate loan from Morgan Stanley. While $200 million was recorded in city records, the full value of the loan was reported to be $305 million. The three office buildings are now home to Knotel’s largest Soho location — the co-working firm signed a 10-year lease for 49,000 square feet in office space there in July.

    5) Maiden launch – $183 million

    Normandy Real Estate Partners, Meadow Partners and AM Property Holding Corp. refinanced their newly-renovated properties at 80-90 Maiden Lane with a floating-rate loan from Invesco Real Estate, with a recorded value of $183 million per city records. The owners plan to reintroduce the pair of office buildings to the Downtown Manhattan market, where they believe low in-place office rents offer significant upside.

    6) Ocean currency – $140 million

    Moinian Group secured a $140 million refinancing for Ocean at One West Street, a residential tower in the Financial District. The loan from Berkadia Commercial Mortgage replaced a previous $135 million Berkadia loan from 2012. The building is part of the 17 Battery Place residential-and-office complex near Battery Park City.

    7) Happy Holiday – $137 million

    Chinese developer Jubao Xie refinanced the world’s tallest Holiday Inn with a $137 million mortgage from Ladder Capital — almost a year after putting it up for sale. The 10-year, non-recourse, interest-only, fixed-rate loan replaced a $135 million mortgage from Bank of China. Despite once considering a sale, the availability of cheap financing convinced the owner that “the best strategy was to make this asset a long-term hold.”

    (Note: although this deal was recorded in city records in October, it was completed the month before.)

    8) The Eagle has Langham – $119 million

    San Francisco-based Pacific Eagle Holdings, the U.S. branch of Hong Kong’s Great Eagle Holdings, secured a $119 million loan from Mizuho bank to refinance its hotel tower at 400 Fifth Avenue — also known as The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue. This replaced a previous $125 million mortgage from Singapore’s United Overseas Bank.

    9) Lifeline for the Death Star – $110 million

    Normandy Real Estate Partners and Columbia Property Trust landed a $100 million construction loan from Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance for their $300 million office development at 799 Broadway. The project, which had already started construction, would be the first new office building in Greenwich Village since 2013’s 51 Astor Place, and has been dubbed the “Death Star” by detractors who claim it is out of place in the neighborhood.

    10) South Korea + South Dakota – $100 million

    Korean firm Daishin Securities acquired the office building at 400 Madison Avenue in Midtown with the help of a $100 million loan from South Dakota-based Midland National Life Insurance Company. Across town, Daishin also partnered with Alchemy Properties to buy an Upper West Side development site, with plans for a 19-story residential condo building.

    So you think you’re a real estate player? Boy, have I got some news for you! For starters, the loans above listed amount to over $2 billion dollars. Divide that by 10 investors. The average loan size was $200 million dollars per project. With any given project being just 1, 2 or maybe 3 buildings together. There’s unlimited money to borrow if you know how to. These people know how to. Understand that most of these companies are doing billions of dollars in acquisition and construction. What about you? Real estate is a lot more than just buying and selling a few single family homes. There’s an old saying that “If you’re not growing, you’re not going.” Note that even the Rockefeller’s borrow money. The fact is, all rich people borrow money. The more money they borrow, the richer they get. These are just the top ten loans for this month in just Manhattan alone. What about Miami? What about Atlanta? San Fransisco? In every state, there’s gigantic real estate builders and developers all playing the same game. They may not be good looking, but they sure are rich. In fact, some of these big players you see walking down the street, driving in their car, and you’ll never know it. I call them the incognito billionaires. They simply own billions in property and constantly buy more. Like Tom Cruise just keeps making movies, 40 years later, every year. It’s what he does. Money is no object. These incognito billionaires do the same thing except with real estate. Most are older men who are second and third generation families of wealth and high social status all from owning real estate. It will never ever change.A place to work, a place to eat, a place to live, there will always be a need for more. As quoted in my book: “You either own real estate…or pay those who do.”

    About The Author

    Robert Annenberg
    Robert Annenberg
    Robert Louis Annenberg Is a 40 year seasoned property owner, manager, investor, builder/developer and business man who is also an author of five published books to date (Amazon.com) and the chief editor of LifeQuestJournal.com. He can be reached at: [email protected] and (201) 289-2500.