Forget the Ozarks — Bank OZK is getting Ritzy.
The prolific lender from Little Rock is taking over financing at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences in NoMad with a $200 million refinance loan. It takes the place of Atalaya Capital Management, which took over $50 million of debt and gave the hotel a $199.6 million construction loan in 2018.
The refi is the latest turn in a development odyssey for Paul Kanavos’ Flag Luxury Group, which is building the branded project.
In 2015, the firm purchased two empty lots, at 1185 Broadway and 29 West 28th Street, opposite the NoMad Hotel for $100 million. Shortly thereafter, Kanavos filed plans for a 146-key, 40-story hotel (it has since been updated to 250 hotel rooms and 16 residences). For design work, he tapped Rafael Viñoly Architects, famous for 432 Park Avenue and Shvo’s 125 Greenwich Street.
In 2019, Kanavos supplemented his Atalaya money with $125 million in EB-5 funding. The building wrapped up construction in December and plans to open in the spring, Yimby reported. The Erin Boisson Aries team at Douglas Elliman will handle the apartment sales.
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It’s been a big week for Bank OZK. Late Wednesday night, Commercial Observer reported that the firm will provide an $800 million construction loan to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development for an Upper West Side condo tower.
As of September, the bank held $7.7 billion in construction and land development loans on its balance sheet, making it one of the most active construction lenders in the city.