New York City — Locally based real estate giant Tishman Speyer has completed the $3.5 billion refinancing of Rockefeller Center, a 7.3 million-square-foot mixed-use campus in Midtown Manhattan.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo led the consortium of lenders that provided the CMBS financing, which carries a fixed interest rate of approximately 6.23 percent. Tishman Speyer will use the proceeds to pay off a 20-year, $1.7 billion CMBS loan and additional mezzanine financing that will mature in May 2025, as well as to fund reserves for contractual leasing costs.
Rockefeller Center was originally developed in the 1920s and comprises more than a dozen buildings across 22 acres between 48th and 51st streets. The campus features office, retail, restaurant and entertainment space, as well as a 24,000-square-foot park atop Radio City Music Hall. Tishman Speyer is currently nearing completion of a redevelopment of the property.
The office component of Rockefeller Center is currently 93 percent leased to global occupiers such as Deloitte, Lazard, Christie’s, Simon & Schuster and J.P. Morgan Chase. Retail and entertainment users include LEGO, Banana Republic, Anthropologie, Michael Kors, Catbird, FAO Schwarz and Nintendo. The lineup of restaurants includes Le Rock, 5 Acres, Jupiter, Lodi, Naro, Pebble Bar and Smith & Mills.
“We are proud of our stewardship of Rockefeller Center,” said Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman Speyer. “The lending market’s overwhelming response speaks volumes about the success of our redevelopment and their confidence in top-performing assets.”
Since its founding in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed and operated 560 properties totaling 227 million square feet, with a combined value of nearly $128 billion. The company owns Rockefeller Center in partnership with Henry Crown & Co., a Chicago-based investment fund.
— Taylor Williams