Tishman Speyer, fresh from a major $3.5 billion deal to refinance the famed Rockefeller Center, has secured a $2.85 billion loan to refinance its new Spiral trophy tower on Manhattan’s far west side.
The five-year, fixed-rate, interest-only loan includes $2.65 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities debt backed by the 66-story tower at 66 Hudson Blvd., according to separate reports from credit-rating firms Morningstar and Fitch. The CMBS loan, co-originated by JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Wells Fargo Bank, is expected to close Jan. 24.
Loan proceeds will be used to refinance $1.6 billion of mostly construction debt, fund $220.7 million in reserves related to ongoing landlord obligations, pay estimated closing-related costs of $75 million and return $967 million of equity to the borrower, Fitch said. Tishman declined to comment.
As sponsor of the loan, Tishman and its partner the Henry Crown & Co., the Crown family’s Chicago-based investment fund, will cash out about $967.3 million, equal to 33.9% of the total loan amount, according to the rating firms' reports.
Blackstone’s real estate lending arm, Blackstone Mortgage Trust, in 2018 gave a $1.8 billion construction loan for the Spiral. A Blackstone spokesperson told CoStar News in November it expects its remaining loan balance on the project will be repaid this month as Tishman is expected to close the CMBS loan.
The Spiral, which counts among pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and HSBC among its largest tenants, was 93.8% leased as of January. Its weighted average remaining lease term of 16.7 years is well past the loan maturity, Fitch and Morningstar said. It’s located near Related Cos.’ Hudson Yards mixed-use development, Brookfield’s Manhattan West and Vornado Realty Trust’s Penn District development.
The Spiral's recent leasing deals included private-equity firm TPG signing one of Manhattan’s largest office leases last year as it's consolidating two existing New York offices.
The property, completed in 2022 and close to attractions such as the Vessel, Edge observation deck, High Line elevated park, The Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards and the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, is included within the Hudson Yards market, which has had a vacancy rate of 4% and an average asking rent of $137 per square foot in November, in contrast to the 17.2% vacancy rate in Manhattan with an asking rate of around $73 per square foot, according to Morningstar. The neighborhood’s performance “relative to the rest of the office sector in Manhattan exemplifies the flight to the quality office sector trend," Morningstar said.
Tishman’s Rockefeller Center, known for its annual Christmas tree display and ice skating rink outside the marquee 30 Rockefeller Plaza, in October completed a new $3.5 billion refinancing loan on the CMBS market.