NEW YORK CITY-Commercial real estate advisory firm Meridian Capital Group, LLC refinanced one of Midtown's most visible buildings--1551 Broadway at 46^th Street--for $180 million, the company said yesterday. The property, anchored by American Eagle Outfitters in the heart of Times Square, is owned by a joint venture of Jeff Sutton and SL Green Realty Corp.  Sutton, who has teamed with SL Green on several other properties, has amassed a total portfolio of over 100 properties throughout Manhattan and the Tri-State area.

The 10-year, fixed-rate CMBS loan was provided by Citi Global Markets and negotiated by Ronnie Levine, managing director based in Meridian’s New York City headquarters, alongside Aaron Birnbaum, partner and EVP at Meridian. Under the deal, the company retired the property’s floating-rate debt and “locked in favorable terms" as part of a long-term portfolio strategy.

As the market continues to stabilize, Levine tells GlobeSt.com that the deal is also a sign that CMBS is “back and functioning” in Manhattan. “It is further evidence that the CMBS markets are able to accommodate larger transactions and are functioning properly,” Levine says. “It is ironic to be saying that at a time where there is a lot of turbulence with spreads in the CMBS marketplace. This deal is definitely an example of the market’s appetite for higher quality New York City properties. High-quality Manhattan assets are always sought after.”

The property--formerly home to a Howard Johnson’s restaurant on the ground-floor--features 25,600 square feet of retail space on four levels and approximately 14,500 square feet of signage that towers 250 feet above street level. Other recent deals by Meridian include arranging a $200 million acquisition loan for 1330 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown; securing $62 million in financing for a 17-story, 103,000-square-foot dormitory at 55 John Street in Lower Manhattan; and completing a $220 million conduit loan for the US Steel Tower in Pittsburgh.