Anderman and Blank of Meridian negotiate $160 million refinance; Ackerman and Sonnenschein of Meridian arrange $28 million

Drew Anderman, Meridian Capital Group

Alan Blank, Meridian Capital Group

Shaya Ackerman, Meridian Capital Group

Shaya Sonnenschein, Meridian Capital Group

245 Fifth Avenue - Manhattan, NY

New York, NY Meridian Capital Group has completed two transactions totaling $188 million.

Meridian negotiated $160 million in permanent financing to refinance the office building located at 245 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan on behalf of 245 Fifth Owner LLC.

 The seven-year, $160 million loan was provided by a life insurance company and features three years of interest-only payments and a fixed-rate of 3.99%. This transaction was negotiated by Meridian senior managing director, Drew Anderman, and senior vice president, Alan Blank.

  The 26-story, 314,000 s/f class-A office property was constructed in 1926 and is located at 245 Fifth Ave., occupying the southeast corner of Fifth Ave. and East 28th St. The building features 12,652 s/f of retail space and 86 ft. of frontage on Fifth Ave. as well as 125 ft. of frontage on East 28^th St. 245 Fifth Ave. is one of the tallest buildings in the immediate area and its art deco architecture features multiple setbacks providing the interior spaces with views, light and air. Tenants of the building, which include technology, healthcare, media and finance companies, all benefit from direct access to the Flatiron and Madison Sq. Park submarkets; two of the most highly desirable office, residential and entertainment neighborhoods which also provide convenient access to numerous forms of transportation.

 “The new financing replaces a bridge loan on the property and allows the sponsorship to capitalize on low rates while availing themselves of interest-only payments,” said Anderman.

902 Quentin Road- Brooklyn, NY

Meridian arranged $28 million in permanent financing for the refinance of a multi-tenant medical office property located at 902 Quentin Rd., Brooklyn. The five-year loan, provided by Bethpage Federal Credit Union, features a fixed-rate of 4.25% and the ability to prepay at any time without a penalty. This transaction was negotiated by Meridian managing director, Shaya Ackerman, and senior vice president, Shaya Sonnenschein.

 The eight-story property, totaling 72,300 s/f, is located in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay neighborhood close to Kings Hwy., Ocean Pwy. and the B and Q Subway lines. The property is currently anchored by New York University and Touro College.

“Having previously arranged the construction financing for this property, we already knew everything about the building, area and sponsorship, which gave us a unique advantage,” said Ackerman. “Using this knowledge in combination with Meridian’s strong lender relationships, we were able to structure a very flexible takeout loan that is also Bethpage Federal Credit Union’s largest closed loan to date.”

Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group is America’s most active debt broker and one of the nation’s leading commercial real estate finance advisory firms. In 2015, Meridian closed over 3,900 loans totaling more than $35 billion in transaction volume with 210 unique lenders, equating to $135 million per business day. Since inception, the company has closed more than $240 billion in financing with the full complement of capital providers, encompassing local, regional and national banks, CMBS lenders, agency lenders, mortgage REITs, life insurance companies, credit unions and private equity funds. Meridian arranges financing for many of the world’s leading real estate investors and developers and the company’s expansive platform has specialized practices for a broad array of property types including office, retail, multifamily, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, healthcare, student housing and self-storage properties.