JLL arranges $141M loan to finance transformation of 15 Laight Street in New York

NEW YORK, October 30, 2018 — JLL Capital Markets experts successfully arranged a $141 million loan to finance the transformation of 15 Laight Street into a boutique office building located at the confluence of New York’s TriBeCa, SoHo and Hudson Square neighborhoods. The group worked on behalf of an affiliate of Vanbarton Group LLC to place the loan with Paramount Group Inc.

Aaron Appel, Vice Chairman; Jonathan Schwartz and Max Herzog, Managing Directors; Mark Fisher, Executive Vice President; Brian Buglione, Associate; and Patrick Cotter, Analyst, led the JLL Capital Markets team handling the debt assignment.

“Strong demand for newly built or repositioned Class A office space in TriBeCa, SoHo and Hudson Square and surrounding areas are supported by tight vacancy rates and positive employment numbers,” said Appel. “The transformation of 15 Laight Street not only offers a potential tenant a high-end office experience in one of Manhattan’s most sought-after areas, it provides a rare opportunity for a tenant to potentially occupy an entire building or floor with direct elevator access, private lobby branding and an intimate work environment.”

Added Schwartz, “This was a competitively bid process as lenders recognized this as an opportunity to contribute to an historic asset backed by a top-tier sponsor.”

15 Laight Street is the former home of the TriBeCa Film Festival. The approximately 100,000-square-foot building has over 300 feet of frontage along Laight and Varick streets and St. John’s Lane. Vanbarton Group has planned a gut renovation of the existing structure complete with new building systems and sleek, new design modifications created by Gensler. Once completed, 15 Laight Street will feature state-of-the-art, Class A office space in addition to ground floor retail space.

The boutique office building is targeting LEED Gold Certification, and will feature Midtown and Hudson River-facing views on the upper floors, outdoor terraces on every office floor, high-end finishes and a luxury amenity package. The property will offer a seamless indoor/outdoor sixth floor space, with a spacious terrace, in addition to an expansive, accessible rooftop offering sweeping views of Manhattan and the Hudson River. The project will have two office entrances, with the main lobby located on Varick Street, and a separate VIP lobby located on St. John’s Lane.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm’s in-depth local market and global investor knowledge delivers the best-in-class solutions for clients—whether a sale, financing, repositioning, advisory or recapitalization execution. In 2017 alone, the firm’s 2,000 Capital Markets specialists completed $170 billion in investment sale and debt and equity transactions globally.

For capital markets content, please visit The Investor, an online and mobile app news source providing real-time commercial real estate news to asset buyers and sellers around the world.

For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit the firm’s U.S. media center Web page.