Singer of Singer & Bassuk arranges $50 million refinancing for the William Kaufman Organization

William Kaufman Org. has closed on a $50 million permanent first mortgage loan for its landmarked Meatpacking District office building at 320 West 13th St., which was recently renamed 2 Gansevoort St. The loan, which was provided by M&T Bank, will fund tenant and ongoing capital improvements at this historic property, which is enjoying a remarkable renaissance fueled by the changing character and growing popularity of the Meatpacking District as well as its location just two blocks east of the High Line. Built in 1912 as a warehouse and trade school, the building, situated at the intersection of West 13th, Horatio and Gansevoort St. in the Greenwich Village Historic District, was acquired by the William Kaufman Org. in 1948 as a notable addition to its Manhattan portfolio of class A office buildings, which include 777 Third Ave., 767 Third Ave., 437 Madison Ave., 747 Third Ave. and 77 Water St. In recent years, asking rents at the property have escalated from the mid-$30s to over $110 a s/f. "We are transforming and repositioning this property, not only in name but through significant capital improvements, so that it can take its rightful place as one of the signature buildings in this resurgent neighborhood," said Jonathan Kaufman Iger, vice president of Sage Realty Corp., the leasing and management division of the William Kaufman Org. Andrew Singer, chairman of The Singer & Bassuk Org. LLC arranged the refinancing on behalf of the William Kaufman Org. The ongoing transformation of 2 Gansevoort includes renovations and upgrades to the building's lobby and main entrance, a complete window replacement, elevators, and access management system. The William Kaufman Org., a multigenerational real estate company founded by its namesake in 1924 and now led by Robert Kaufman and Jonathan Kaufman Iger, has developed and repositioned 6 million s/f of real estate in the city. The current portfolio consists of six class A commercial office buildings, totaling over 3 million rentable s/f, along with additional real estate assets.