NEW YORK CITY-A loan secured by a prominent office tower in Midtown’s Grand Central submarket has been transferred into special servicing shortly before a high-profile real estate owner/manager is expected to acquire the building. According to Fitch Ratings, the $310 million loan on 450 Lexington Ave., part of Credit Suisse Commercial Mortgage Trust Series 2007-C5, was passed off to C-III Asset Management LLC due to maturity default after passing its July 17 maturity date.

The transfer now paves the way for RXR Realty to snatch up the 40-story, 910,000-square-foot class A office building from Istithmar Building FZE after published reports showed that the company has been actively eyeing the property. After the loan matured on July 11, sources close to the deal say RXR is expecting to close on the deal next month and only the special servicer can make any decisions of this nature for the CMBS trust.

Britt Johnson, senior director at Fitch tells GlobeSt.com in an e-mail that if the contract closes and the loan pays off, it will take care of the default. But until that time, the five-year, interest-only loan is considered in default and will remain with the special servicer.