SL Green, Vornado Score $1B Loan Extension for NYC Trophy Tower

April 17, 2024

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In total, the company recently restructured, modified or extended more than $2 billion in debt.

280 Park Ave., which had a $1.075 billion loan maturity extended by two years. *Image courtesy of CommercialEdge*

SL Green Realty Corp. and Vornado Realty Trust have secured a two-year extension for the $1.1 billion securitized mortgage on 280 Park Ave. in Midtown Manhattan.

Originally due to mature this September, the loan on the 1.3 million-square-foot trophy tower will now come due in September of 2026, with the partners retaining the option to fully extend the maturity date to 2028.

According to CommercialEdge information, the loan, taken out in 2017 and originated by Deutsche Bank, replaced a $900 million refinancing that was secured the previous year.

A Midtown trophy

Commercial Observer reported that SL Green and Vornado entered into a special servicing agreement with Wells Fargo last December, which started negotiations for the now-complete extension. That month, the owners also closed on a lease renewal and expansion with PJT Partners, which brought the tenant’s footprint at the property to 270,000 square feet.

One of Midtown’s most recognizable office towers, 280 Park was built in 1962 and underwent a $150 million gut renovation in 2014. SL Green acquired a $500 million, 49.5 percent ownership stake in the asset in 2011. CBRE handles leasing at the property, tenants including Wells Fargo, Greystar, Investcorp and Franklin Templeton.

As its address suggests, 280 Park is flanked by many of Midtown’s most recognizable landmarks and destinations, including Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center, both of which being roughly a quarter mile to the south and west, respectively.

Part of a $2.1 billion debt adjustment strategy

The deal is part of $2.1 billion in recent strategic debt modifications and extensions across SL Green’s portfolio. One of the other deals involved a $125 million mezzanine loan also encumbering 280 Park. The partnership separately modified and extended that note and subsequently repaid the loan for $62.5 million.

Together with its joint venture partners, the company also closed on the modification and extension of the $360 million loan on 100 Park Ave. The maturity date of the mortgage was extended by two years, to December 2025.

Additionally, SL Green also completed the modification and extension of the mortgage on 10 E. 53rd St., a 37-story office building. The modification comprised a paydown of the principal balance by $15.0 million, to $205 million, and extended the maturity date by three years to May 2028. SL Green also entered into a contract to acquire its partner’s 45 percent interest in the nearly 393,000-square-foot asset for $7.2 million, with the sales expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.