RXR and Ivanhoé Cambridge scored a significant extension to a $1 billion mortgage dogging their Midtown Manhattan office building.
The owners of 1211 Sixth Avenue extended their mortgage for three years, the Commercial Observer reported. The loan was scheduled to mature in August and had been flagged by Fitch Ratings due to a low debt service coverage ratio.
J.P. Morgan, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley originated the mortgage in 2015.
As part of the modification and extension, the loan was sent to special servicer Berkadia. The owners will also invest $300 million to modernize the building, redesigning the plaza and reimagining a multi-tenant lobby.
A few weeks ago, credit rating agency KBRA downgraded the $1 billion mortgage backing the property, citing an “impending decline in the property’s occupancy.” But the rating agency was forced to walk back a report that major tenants Fox and News Corp. were planning to abandon 330,000 square feet.
Fox previously agreed to an extension in January 2023 to stay at the property and continue to utilize 1.2 million square feet until 2042. The extension was announced as two separate deals: Fox’s 670,000-square-foot deal would begin in December 2025, while News Corp.’s 485,000-square-foot extension would start two years later.
Occupancy is still expected to decline, even with Fox staying, as law firm Ropes & Gray is planning to leave behind more than 300,000 square feet in approximately two years.
RXR acquired a 49 percent stake in the 45-story, 1.8-million-square-foot building in January. Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the parent company of Ivanhoé Cambridge, owns the majority stake.
Ivanhoé and its then-partner Callahan Capital Properties paid $1.7 billion to purchase the property, a deal that unfolded over two separate stake sales.
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