JLL Secures $181M Loan for Redevelopment of West End Campus

NEW YORK, November 4, 2019 – JLL Capital Markets experts have successfully arranged a $181 million loan to finance the redevelopment of West End Campus, a portfolio of two buildings totaling 484,774 square feet and a parcel of land containing 105,575 square feet of development rights.

JLL worked on behalf of Taconic Investment Partners LLC and Nuveen Real Estate to place the floating rate-acquisition/bridge loan with LoanCore Capital.

The 484,774-square-foot West End Campus encompasses the entire block front along West End Avenue from West 65th Street to West 66th Street, with the 2.3-acre lot covering two-thirds of the entire city block westward towards Riverside Boulevard. The campus includes the 380,190-square-foot 125 West End Avenue, the 104,584-square-foot 20 West 66th Street, along with an additional 105,575 square feet of development rights on Lot 61, the parcel adjacent to 125 West End Avenue and 320 West 66th Street.

The seven-story 125 West End Avenue was originally developed in 1929 as an automotive facility for Chrysler. The building features oversized windows, soaring 13’3’’ to 15’9” ceiling heights providing ample light and air, floor load capacity more than double the weight that can be found in typical buildings, and large open floor plates ranging from 37,000 to 50,000 square feet.

The five-story 320 West 66th Street was built in 1985 for studio use and includes ceiling heights starting at 11’ and ranging to more 30’ on the third floor, which boasts a column-free 22,000-square-foot floor plate that is configured as two distinct television studio spaces.

The property also features multiple roof setbacks, extraordinary infrastructure including large floor plates, freight elevators, ceiling heights, floor loads, multiple vehicular access points, as well as multiple loading docks servicing the site from the basement to the third floor, offering tenants direct loading – a feature rarely seen in Manhattan buildings.

JLL’s Evan Pariser, Senior Managing Director; Geoff Goldstein, Senior Director; Jackie Ferrer, Senior Associate; and Sophie Cohen, Analyst, led the debt placement assignment.

“This is the first time in nearly 40 years that a redevelopment opportunity has been available at the West End Campus,” Pariser said. “Much of this space was constructed to specifications far exceeding typical standards. It has been occupied by ABC / Disney for office and studio production purposes since the early 1980s.”

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 investment advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

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