NEW YORK CITY—After putting the property up for sale earlier this year, the owners of Long Island City's One Court Square—also known as the Citibank Building as the financial firm leases the entire property— have decided against selling the 1.5 million-square-foot office tower, according to the Real Deal.
Affiliates of Savanna, which in 2014 bought a controlling interest in the towerat 25-01 Jackson Ave.—along with an unknown joint venture partner—put the property on the market earlier this year as a possible residential conversion. It reportedly could have sold for over $500 million. However, Savanna has refinanced the building's $315 million mortgage and elected to keep the 26-year old property. A spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment on the reasons behind these measures to GlobeSt.com.
A Cushman & Wakefield equity, debt and structured finance team of Steve Kohn, John Alascio, Alex Hernandez, Chris Moyer and Alex Lapidus represented Savanna's joint venture in the refinancing. The fixed rate financing was provided by Natixis Real Estate Capital.
“In addition to the strong attraction of the asset quality, premier sponsorship and credit tenancy, Long Island City has become a highly sought-after submarket in New York City,” says Kohn, president of Cushman equity, debt & structured finance.
The 1.5 million-square-foot Class A office and retail building—which stands 52-stories tall—and its attached five-story low-rise annex building, was being marketed by Robert Knakal's team at Cushman & Wakefield. Knakal did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The asset management and private equity firm—led by managing partners Christopher Schlank and Nicholas Bienstock—bought its share in the building at a “significantly higher value” than the seller. That party was David Werner and Joel Schreiber's Waterbridge Capital, which acquired the property from SL Green in 2011 for $500 million.
Citibank's lease runs through 2020.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
