GFP Real Estate, LLC is pleased to announce it has closed on a $191,000,000 interest-only permanent/construction loan for 40 Worth St., an 800,000-square-foot, full-block office building located between West Broadway & Church Street in TriBeCa.
The new seven-year loan—provided by a group of banks led by Wells Fargo that includes TD Bank and BankUnited—will be used primarily to facilitate the construction of The Legal Aid Society’s new 198,900-square-foot offices at the building. The initial funding of approximately $155,700,000 was fixed at closing, while the remaining $35,300,000 will be drawn over the next 18 to 24 months as construction continues. The Legal Aid Society is expected to occupy the majority of its newly built space (125k SF) in August 2022 and the remaining balance of the space (75k SF) in March 2023.
The Legal Aid Society, known as the “largest, most influential social justice law firm in New York City,” signed a 30-year commercial office condominium lease at 40 Worth St. in June 2021, expanding its footprint at the building from 75,000 square feet—a move that consolidates the non-profit’s offices from nearby locations at 199 Water St. and 80 Pine St., respectively.
The new loan replaces an existing $150,000,000 loan provided by Capital One and TD Bank in 2015 that was to mature in July of 2025. Paul Talbot, senior managing director of Newmark, represented GFP Real Estate in securing the new loan.
“Arranging a loan that required both construction and permanent funding for an office building in NYC made it imperative that the lenders understood the makeup and structure of the building’s tenants, as well as the strong, long-term ownership of GFP Real Estate,” said Talbot.
Major tenants at the 100-percent leased building include the east coast headquarters of iconic fashion brand The Gap, The Acumen Fund, The Innocence Project, Legal Services NYC, Public Health Solutions, Weill Cornell and The Center for Family Representation, among others. 40 Worth St. has been a magnet for major non-profits and large corporations for many years and has continued to see strong leasing activity throughout—and following—the pandemic, leasing more than 300,000 square feet of new leases over the past year alone.
“40 Worth has continued to attract major companies and non-profits that are drawn to the building’s incredible downtown location, open floor plans and eclectic tenant mix,” said Jeffrey Gural, Chairman and Principal of GFP Real Estate. “Despite challenges faced by the pandemic, the building has remained an incredibly stable asset.”
40 Worth Street is a neo-classical building, also known as the Merchants Square Building, that was built in 1929 by the architectural firm of Jardine, Hill & Murdock. Situated in upscale Tribeca in Manhattan, the building totals nearly 800,000 square feet, and occupies a full block from Worth Street to Thomas Street between West Broadway & Church Street. With large, efficient floorplates and oversized windows throughout, the building offers abundant natural light and exceptional city views, catering to small, medium and large tenants alike.
Source: rew-online.com
