- The Witkoff Group and Cammeby’s International Group secured a $278.9M refinance loan from Blackstone for the office condo portion of the landmark Woolworth Building.
- The new debt replaces a 2015 loan of $256M, also issued by Blackstone, and was arranged by Iron Hound Management.
- The refinancing underscores continued investor interest in high-profile, stabilized assets in Lower Manhattan, where leasing activity recently hit a five-year high.
A Landmark Gets a Fresh Loan
According to The Real Deal, The Witkoff Group and Rubie Schron’s Cammeby’s International Group have locked in a $278.9M refinance package for the office portion of the landmarked Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway.
Blackstone provided the financing, replacing an earlier $256M loan the firm issued in 2015.
The transaction, brokered by Iron Hound Management, closed earlier this month and equates to roughly $358 PSF.
Not the Condo on Top
The refinancing only applies to the office condo portion of the 60-story tower. The top 30 floors, which Alchemy Properties converted into luxury condos after purchasing them for $68M in 2012, were not part of the deal.
Witkoff and Schron originally acquired the entire building back in 1998 for $137.5M.
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Performance Snapshot
According to previous CMBS filings, the office condo was 92% leased to 84 tenants as of mid-2020—an improvement from 79% in 2015. New York University is the largest tenant, occupying 94,000 SF for its School of Professional Studies and administrative offices.
Market Context
The refinancing comes as Downtown Manhattan shows renewed life in its office market. February leasing activity hit 1.25M SF, the district’s highest since December 2019, per a Colliers report. While Midtown has led the recovery, the Downtown submarket is beginning to show signs of catching up.
Meanwhile, Blackstone is also active on the sell side, marketing $395M in commercial debt from the Signature Bank portfolio alongside partners Rialto Capital and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Why It Matters
Despite broader concerns over office demand and financing hurdles in a high-rate environment, deals like this one underscore that well-leased, historic assets in prime locations can still attract substantial capital—especially when backed by heavyweight sponsors like Witkoff and Cammeby’s.
