FINANCE WEEKLY The Insider’s Weekly Guide to the Commercial Mortgage Industry In This Issue 5 RXR Recapitalizes Debt on 61 Broadway With $290M Loan 5 Citi Funds $102M Refi of Ohio Power Center 7 Sears Closings Pose Threat to CMBS, Retail Operators 7 Harbor Group International Seals $59M HQ Refi With CIBC 9 Taconic, Clarion Land $110M Capital One Loan for Massive Bronx Portfolio 9 Lightstone Launches Program to Fund Entrepreneurial Deals 11 Macklowe Properties Refis UES Resi Condo With $53M Loan 11 Bronx Multifamily Acquisition Funded With $61.5M Signature Loan “We keep expanding and growing. One of the interseting results of the credit crisis is that we get a shot at amazing talent.” —William David Tobin From Q&A on page 14 Tishman Speyer American Switching Seeks Tax Flights on JFK $882M Incentives for $707M LIC in Bond Debt Project An affiliate ofTishmam Speyer is look- American Airlines is looking to refinance IDA, and replace them with new ones issued ing for tax breaks in connection with the con- its longstanding special facility revenue bonds by a state-run counterpart. The board of gov- struction of a $706.7 million two-tower Class A tied to the lease and construction of the eight- ernors for the Port Authority of New York & commercial project in Queens, according to the year-old Terminal 8 at John F. Kennedy New Jersey, which controls the land at JFK, company’s benefits application with theNew International Airport. But before voted on April 28 to give its consent York City Industrial Development Agency. debt replacement can fully take flight, to refinance as well as to tweak condi- Tishman Speyer is seeking $65 million in the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline The tions of the mortgage on the terminal’s city tax exemptions and deferrals, NYCIDA must clear a runway full of bureau- ground lease. documents indicate. Of the $65 million, $8.3 cratic hurdles. LEAD American has $882 million in million are NYCIDA benefits, a NYCIDA As the financing faces maturity bonds (still due to shareholders) that spokesman explained, and $56.6 million this summer, government documents show funded its long-standing ground lease at the are Industrial and Commercial Abatement that American is looking to refund 11- and site and demolition of the previously existing Program, or ICAP, benefits provided through 14-year-old bonds issued by the New York City Industrial Development Agency, or American Airlines... continued on page 3 Tishman Speyer... continued on page 3 1 | APRIL 29, 2016 2 | APRIL 29, 2016 28-10 Queens Plaza South. Tishman Speyer...continued from page 1 The 26-story property will contain 1.1 Meanwhile, as Commercial Observer pre- million square feet of office space, 20,000 viously reported, Tishman Speyer and H&R the New York City Department of Finance. to 40,000 square feet of retail space and a Real Estate Investment Trust are devel- The money would contribute to the acqui- 388-space, 80,000-square-foot parking ga- oping Two Gotham Center, the 1.2-million- sition of the 71,692-square-foot site at 28-10 rage, according to the cost/benefit analysis square-foot, 1,789-unit rental complex across Queens Plaza South and the erection of the by the NYCIDA, a division of New York City the street, on a parcel of land bound by Queens development. Of the $706.7 million, $10.8 mil- Economic Development Corporation. Boulevard, Jackson Avenue, Orchard Street lion is allocated for land acquisition, $388.4 WeWork signed a lease for 285,000 square and the Sunnyside Yards. million is for construction hard costs, $72.7 feet in one of the buildings, The Real Deal NYCIDA will hold a public hearing on the tax million is for soft costs and $23.4 million is for previously reported. incentives on May 5. development fees. Tishman Speyer is also looking to raise LICPost first reported news about Tishman Construction is slated to commence next $145 million in EB-5 financing for the two Speyer seeking tax incentives. year and the project should be open three years structures, dubbed One and Three Gotham A spokesman for the developer declined to later. Center, TRD noted. comment.—Lauren Elkies Schram American Airlines...continued from page 1 new bonds issued by the New York State expected to vote to approve the documents at Transportation Development Corporation, its May meeting, the agenda indicates. buildings there, as well as construction of a a wing of Empire State Development that The Tax Equity and Fiscal new 1.4-million-square-foot terminal that helps fund major transit projects. Responsibility Act requires that a hearing opened in 2007 and was fully finished a year The Port Authority’s consent was re- be held when certain bonds are refunded and later, according to government documents. quired for the new transaction to go through. the issuer changes—in this case going from the Along with American Airlines and subsidi- American will pay the agency a one-time fee IDA to the NYS Transportation Development ary American Eagle, the 35-gate terminal of $3.2 million in the refinancing process as it Corporation. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is also handles flights from airlines includingAir will update the leasehold mortgage on the air- required to sign off on the issuance once the Berlin, Finnair and Qatar Airways. line's ground lease. The agency will amend its board approves the financing. The airline originally borrowed $1.2 bil- lease with American at Terminal 8, which cur- A spokesman for ESD said a hearing had not lion for the development. That breaks down rently expires in December 2036, so that the yet been scheduled, but one should be calen- as follows: American first took out $500 bil- leasehold mortgage on the land indicates that dared in the near future. lion worth of tax-exempt bonds in 2002 the bonds have been issued by the state and not Going through the city or the state to issue through IDA, a New York City Economic by the city, Port Authority Executive Director bonds is not an uncommon practice for com- Development Corporation subsidiary, to Patrick Foye said in a post-meeting press con- panies doing major infrastructure projects at fund work on the JFK project, which cost a ference. “Right now the leasehold mortgage airports. LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the reported $1.3 billion. Part of that debt was re- runs in the interest of the bond holders who group of developers building a new terminal tired in 2012, Port Authority documents in- bought under the debt that was issued through building at LaGuardia Airport, is seeking a dicate. That was followed up in 2005 with a the [NYCIDA] conduit,” Mr. Foye said. “That similar issuance for its project, which is expect- $700 million issuance through the agency, leasehold mortgage then will run through debt ed to cost more than $4 billion. The consortium according to a press release from EDC at the issued through the [ESD] conduit.” is looking for about $2.5 billion in special fa- time. The second set of bonds was uninsured NYS Transportation Development cility bonds, which will also be issued by NYS and carried a fixed rate, trade publicationThe Corporation board of directors voted earli- Tranportation Development Corporation, to Bond Buyer reported in 2005. er this month to approve documentation and fund its work at the airport, according to cred- The combined debt is now slated to ex- hire lawyers in preparation for the approxi- it rating agencies. pire this August, according to Port Authority mately $900 million bond issuance, according A representative for American did not return documents. American plans to refund it with to an agenda for its April meeting. The board is a request for comment.—Terence Cullen 3 | APRIL 29, 2016 POWERING YOUR PROSPERITY John Gochberg Steve Macy Michael Frazzetta Zach Goldman TGM Associates Avid Outdoorsmen Walker & Dunlop borrower since 2012 Commercial Real Estate Finance Commercialwww.walkerdunlop.com Real Estate Finance California loans will be made pursuant towww.walkerdunlop.com a Finance Lenders Law License from the Department of Business Oversight. California loans will be made pursuant to a Finance Lenders Law License from the Department of Business Oversight. 4 | APRIL 29, 2016 RXR Recapitalizes Debt on 61 Broadway With $290M Loan Scott Rechler sure must have been filling and Morris Streets, to an overseas investor. out a lot of paperwork recently. JLL brokers Scott Latham, Richard Baxter, On April 21, his real estate company RXR Anthony Ledesma, Stephen Shapiro, Jon Realty took a $290 mil- Caplan and Yoron Cohen negotiated the deal. EXCLUSIVE lion mortgage from Bank “We are thrilled to have China Orient join of China and SL Green us as our new partner and are pleased that we Realty Corp. on 61 Broadway in Manhattan’s were able to create meaningful value by up- Financial District, Commercial Observer grading 61 Broadway and executing more than Finance has learned. 100,000 square feet of leases at extremely at- While a spokesman for RXR declined to tractive rents,” Mr. Rechler said in prepared re- comment on the financing, a source with inti- marks provided to COF. “We look forward to mate knowledge of the transaction confirmed executing the next level of value creation as we that Bank of China originated a $240 million recapture space and release it at higher rents mortgage and SL Green provided a $50 mil- to the dynamic 21st-century tenants that 61 lion mezzanine loan to recapitalize the prop- Broadway is now attracting.” 61 Broadway. erty. The new financing replaces $200 million Tenants at the building include Bjarke in debt that HSBC provided on the property at Ingels Group, which occupies the penthouse, the time of the acquisition.