Meridian Capital Group finances $160m for 980 Madison Avenue; Syndicated loan negotiated by Herzog and Baydala January 13, 2014 - Front Section Meridian Capital Group, LLC, one of the leading national commercial real estate finance and advisory firms, negotiated a $160 million syndicated loan for the office building located at 980 Madison Ave. on behalf of 980 Madison Owner, LLC, an entity controlled by RFR Realty. The seven-year financing was provided by a syndicate of three banks, features a fixed-rate of 4.125% and includes a three-year extension option. New York Community Bank was the agent and led the deal retaining a $90 million portion of the loan. Bank United and Customers Bank rounded out the syndicate and took $40 million and $30 million respectively. This transaction was negotiated by Meridian Capital Group managing director, Max Herzog, and managing director and head of structured finance, Terry Baydala, who are both based in the company's New York City headquarters. 980 Madison Ave. is a six-story, 131,000 s/f office property located at the intersection of Madison Ave. and East 76th St., across the street from the Carlyle Hotel and within close distance to epicurean establishments, global cultural institutions and the Madison Ave. shopping mecca. The property is composed of 14,650 s/f of ground-floor retail space which houses several retail tenants including Rebecca Taylor and Douglas Elliman, 100,270 s/f office and gallery space above and 16,100 s/f of lower level space below. The property is anchored by Gagosian Gallery, a world-renowned art gallery with eleven locations globally. "Due to the size and complexity of the transaction, it was imperative that Meridian coordinate efforts with New York Community Bank, Bank United and Customers Bank in structuring this deal so that all three lenders were ready to fund simultaneously in order to meet the borrowers time line," said Baydala. "980 Madison Ave. is an iconic Upper East Side class-A property. Meridian worked closely with New York Community Bank, as the lead, as well as Bank United and Customers Bank, as participants, to structure very strong financing terms that are well-suited for a prestigious building of this caliber," said Herzog. New York Real Estate Journal - 17 Accord Park Drive #207, Norwell MA 02061 - (781) 878-4540.