The 10 largest Manhattan real estate loans recorded in May totaled $1.84 billion, more than double April’s total.
More than half of that total came from a pair of commercial mortgage-backed security loans on Midtown office towers — the seventh time in nine months that the CMBS market has produced Manhattan’s largest recorded loan.
Here were the borough’s largest real estate loans in May:
1 & 2) Durst quencher | $769 million, $331 million
The Durst Organization refinanced 1133 Sixth Avenue and 114 West 47th Street with a single-borrower CMBS transaction totaling $1.1 billion. The 10-year, fixed-rate, interest-only loans came from Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Bank of America is also the largest tenant across the two properties, with 506,000 square feet. Other notable tenants include the NBA Players Association and piano maker Steinway & Sons.
3) Merchant mortgage | $185 million
The group behind the 170-unit condo tower at 537 Greenwich Street in Hudson Square landed a $185 million inventory loan for 137 unsold units from China Merchants Bank. The project was developed by Strategic Capital — the investment arm of China Construction America, Forum Absolute Capital Partners and Cape Advisors. The financing takes out a $215 million construction loan Bank OZK provided in 2017.
4) Safe harbor | $108 million
AIG provided a $107.7 million loan for Harbor Group International’s recapitalization of 55 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, which also saw the investment of new equity capital to retire Paramount Group’s preferred equity stake in the 32-story office building. The landlord signed four leases in January, and the AIG loan includes up to $8.4 million in future funding for leasing costs.
5) Laub loan | $95 million
Laub Realty refinanced a mixed-use property at 261-275 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side with a 10-year, $95 million CMBS loan from Morgan Stanley. The 12-story property has 134 rental units, of which 67 are market rate, 60 are rent stabilized and seven are rent controlled, according to a Kroll report. The property’s 21,000 square feet of retail space is occupied by tenants including Chipotle and Capital One.
6) Development knight | $80 million
Hong Kong-based Lion Knight Limited provided $80 million to refinance an eight-parcel development site owned by Arris Properties Group, at 143-163 East 60th Street. The site was previously owned by Kuafu Properties, whose principals parted ways in 2016. Prior renderings envisioned a 1,240-foot tower on the site that would be the Upper East Side’s tallest. The new debt replaces a $100 million loan provided by Bank OZK in 2017.
7) Magnum FiDi | $75 million
Ben Shaoul’s Magnum Real Estate secured a $74.9 million inventory loan from Ares Commercial Real Estate for 30 unsold condo units at 140 West Street in the Financial District, also known as the Verizon Building or 100 Barclay. Magnum and partner CIM Group acquired the top 21 floors of the 31-story building in 2013, and converted it into 157 condos.
8) (tie) Bankruptcy buy | $70 million
Signature Bank provided a $70 million loan to Madison Realty Capital for its $153 million acquisition of a bankrupt 15-building apartment portfolio previously owned by Raphael Toledano. A subsidiary of Toledano’s Brookhill Capital owed Madison about $140 million, including $124 million used to purchase the buildings in 2016, interest and attorneys fees.
8) (tie) Fresh water | $70 million
Vanbarton Group refinanced the 24-story office building at 160 Water Street in Lower Manhattan with a $70 million loan from Brookfield Real Estate Financial Partners. Vanbarton, a spinoff of Emmes Asset Management, acquired the 480,000-square-foot building for $165 million in 2014, with a $99.6 million loan from JPMorgan Chase.
10) Naftali debt | $61 million
Bank Hapoalim provided $102.7 million in construction financing, including $61 million in senior debt, to Naftali Group for a 12-unit condo project at 1165 Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. The 13-story, 62,700-square-foot development will include two duplex penthouses and three full-floor residences, as well as 3,750 square feet of ground-floor retail.