Seidman of Meridian negotiates $7.7 million mortgage financing for Tiffany Glass Building

Meridian Capital Group, LLC, a leading national commercial real estate finance and advisory firm, negotiated $7.7 million in mortgage financing for the Tiffany Glass Building, a commercial co-op located at 333 Park Ave. South. The financing package was executed in two phases; an underlying co-op loan that closed in June and a share loan that closed in January. Both loans were provided by a local community bank and feature rates of 4.125% and 4.4%, respectively. Meridian vice president, Shamir Seidman, based in the company's local headquarters, negotiated the transaction. Built over 100 years ago by Louis Comfort Tiffany and used as his original glass blowing studio, the Tiffany Glass Building is a neighborhood architectural and historical site. The five-story, 40,000 s/f commercial co-op building is located in the Flatiron District at 333 Park Ave. South, at the corner of 25th St., steps from the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Tower and Madison Sq. Park. The building features newly renovated lofts with high ceilings, hardwood floors, exposed brick and custom finishes. The property is composed of six ground floor retail spaces, 10 commercial loft units and nine residential units. Notable retail tenants include Citibank, Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Wahoo's Fish Taco. "The owners have maximized the potential of this asset by transforming this century-old building into a distinctive property that blends its unique heritage with contemporary features sought after in today's market," said Seidman. "One of the challenges in this deal was that the building was constructed before the implementation of the certificate of occupancy requirement. We structured the loan to allow a portion of the financing to be used to make the substantial capex investment needed to obtain the certificate of occupancy. By leveraging Meridian's experience and relationships we were able to expedite the financing to allow the asset to be improved in-line with our clients' business plan," he said. Founded in 1991, Meridian Capital Group, LLC is one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms. Meridian is headquartered in New York with offices in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Florida and California. Working with a broad array of capital providers, Meridian arranges financing for transactions ranging from $1 million to more than $500 million for multifamily, co-op, office, retail, hotel, mixed-use, industrial, healthcare, student housing, self-storage and construction properties.