Fat Financing for ‘Slenderest’ Tower

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

New York—The capital market experts of investment management firm JLL announced this week that the firm has secured $725 million in construction financing for the development of 111 West 57th Street in Manhattan. The announcement was made on behalf of a joint venture involving Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group and Kevin Maloney’s Property Markets Group.

To rise more than 1,400 feet above Manhattan, 111 West 57^th Street will be a 60-unit condominium tower. The development partners were provided with the financing by AIG investments and Apollo Global Management. That financing allowed them to refinance a $230 million loan from Annaly Capital.

At 80 stories in height and being developed within the existing Steinway Hall, the building is being dubbed the “slenderest tower in the world.”

“Once completed, 111 West 57^th Street will stand out amongst New York’s already iconic skyline,” said JLL managing director Aaron Appel, who with senior vice president Michael Diaz led the JLL team in completing the transaction.

“The unique structure of this transaction, backed by truly the best-in-class sponsorship, demonstrates the strength of the condominium market and is the kind of strategic, innovative work that makes this business so compelling,” he said.

JLL Capital Markets is a full-service provider of capital solutions to real estate investors and occupiers. In calendar year 2014, JLL Capital Markets completed $118 billion in investment sale and debt and equity transactions globally.

The firm’s Capital Markets team operates globally and draws on the experience and expertise of more than 1,700 specialists.