Aareal Capital closes on $134.2 million loan for The Swig Co. and Himmel + Meringoff to redevelop 1460 Broadway

According to the newly-formed partnership between The Swig Co. and Himmel + Meringoff Properties, established to redevelop/reposition Times Sq. tower 1460 Broadway, they have closed on $134.2 million in debt financing from lender Aareal Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Wiesbaden, Germany-based Aareal Bank Group. Himmel + Meringoff joined The Swig Co. to buy out their former partner's 49% interest in the 16-story, 215,000 s/f property strategically located in Times Sq. at the intersection of West 41st St. In conjunction with the acquisition, Eastdil Secured was first hired as the partnership's exclusive advisor on the equity recapitalization and then as the exclusive agent in refinancing the project. "Eastdil did an exemplary job in both representing the venture and the debt placement," said Leslie Himmel principal of Himmel + Meringoff whose company will serve as the project's local partner overseeing the redevelopment of this property which will become 100% available in 2015. "Aareal Capital Corp. has a unique understanding of commercial projects specializing in creative repositioning efforts such as ours. Aareal complements a prestigious team that will now invest over $40 million to transform 1460 Broadway into a leading building in this very exciting market," said Jeanne Myerson, president and CEO of The Swig Co. "We are looking forward to developing one of the few remaining Times Square properties that is zoned to allow for spectacular LED signage as well as creating 35,000 s/f of flagship retail space and 190,000 s/f of state-of-the-art office space," said Stephen Meringoff. The Swig Company, LLC is a privately-owned, San Francisco-based real estate operator and investor with a 78-year history of investment, development, partnership and management of commercial real estate properties in major markets throughout the United States. Founded in 1936 by Benjamin Swig, The Swig Company is today a vertically integrated platform that combines expertise in investment (both joint-ventures and wholly-owned assets), institutional-quality accounting and controls, proactive asset management, leasing, and property management, adds value to the portfolio and informs market perspective creating strong relationships among tenants, brokers, capital partners, and key community stakeholders. The Company's real estate history provides a long-term perspective combined with agility and experience stewarding investors safely through many market cycles. These qualities have been the foundation for successful wealth creation and sustainability. With this foundation, The Swig company continues to evolve a platform to merge its legacy and "generational thinking" with a growth platform based on experience, flexibility and nimbleness, keeping the company at the forefront of emerging trends in the commercial real estate industry. About Himmel + Meringoff New York City-based Himmel + Meringoff Properties' (www.hmprop.com) operates one of the largest privately owned portfolios in Manhattan. The company's long-term investment strategy is based on successfully identifying and evaluating well-located but under-performing properties, and structuring complex transactions that are often highly customized to meet the disposition objectives of the property's owners. H + M's approach to acquisitions includes joint ventures, net leases with options to buy and partial sale-leasebacks. The company has a 35-year track record of financial success in creating value through repositioning, renovating, re-tenanting and adaptive reuse using strategic capital infusion and vertically integrated in-house management. About Eastdil Secured Eastdil Secured, www.eastdilsecured.com, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank (NYSE: WFC), is one of the most active investment property sales, debt placement and commercial mortgage sales firms in the country. Eastdil Secured is also engaged in raising debt and equity in the public markets and raising private equity and entity recapitalizations through its broker dealer affiliate, Wells Fargo Securities. Since 2007, Eastdil Secured has completed over 2,740 transactions totaling over $673 billion. Aareal Capital Corporation A wholly-owned subsidiary of Wiesbaden, Germany-based Aareal Bank Group, www.aareal-bank.com Aareal Capital Corporation focuses on lending in and to the North American real estate market which extends to the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico. The Corporation offers investors and developers a wide range of lending facilities including mortgage loans and structured real estate debt for financing office, retail, hotel, industrial and multifamily residential real estate. Clients include national real estate companies, REITs, opportunity funds and well capitalized private companies as well as international investors ###