$332.3M entity level transfer at Metro Loft’s 533-unit FiDi conversion

The entity 20 Broad Street Pledgor LLC paid $332.3 million through an entity level transfer to an affiliate of Metro Loft Management through the entity 20 Broad Street Holdings LLC for ownership of a ground lease that control the 533-unit residential elevator building (D9) at 20 Broad Street in Financial District, Manhattan. Metro Loft Management’s loan $250 million loan secured by the property was set to mature in September 2024, The Commercial Observer reported in August. It was not immediately clear what the impact of this transfer was.

The entity level sale resulted in the payment of $8.7 million of city taxes.
The deal closed on December 23, 2024 and was recorded on January 23, 2025. The property has 466,820 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The sale price per built square foot is $711 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The buyer is a company formed October 21, 2024 and registered in Delaware with unknown ownership. It is in care of Cushman & Wakefield.

The fee is owned by New York Stock Exchange LLC, an affiliate off InterContinental Exchange, a financial brokerage. Newex Corporation, an affiliate of the New York Stock Exchange, as landlord, originally signed the lease in 1954, and the lease runs to 2081. Vornado Realty Trust sold the lease to Metro Loft Management in 2015 for $185 million for a residential conversion. Vornado acquired the ground lease from Bernard Mendik. Mendik bought the ground lease from New York Life in 1980.

Prior sales and revenue

Prior to this transaction, PincusCo has no record that the buyer had purchased any other properties and has no record it sold any properties over the past 24 months.
The seller Metro Loft Management purchased four properties in four transactions for a total of $365.5 million and had not sold any properties over the same time period. The former owners according to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development includes Nathan Berman, head officer and Jack Berman, officer. The business entity is 20 Broad Street Owner Llc.

The property

The residential elevator building with 533 residential units in Financial District has 466,820 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 121 feet and is 150 feet deep with a total lot size of 19,975 square feet. The lot is irregular. The zoning is C5-5 which allows for up to 15 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $177.6 million. The most recent loan totaled $250 million and was provided by Athene Holding on September 11, 2019.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received $4,075 in OATH penalties in the last year.

Development

For the tax lot building, it received its initial certificate of occupancy on September 10, 2018. On the lot, there is one active major alteration construction project, 121190656, for a 533-unit, 433,665 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Robert Travis with plans filed April 8, 2016 and permitted July 26, 2017.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of one of the two commercial properties representing 466,820 square feet of the 707,099 square feet. The identified owner is Metro Loft Management.
There are no active new building construction projects on this tax block.

The majority, or 66 percent of the 707,099 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with office buildings next occupying 34 percent of the space.

The seller

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Metro Loft Management owned at least nine commercial properties with 1,148 residential units in New York City with 3,737,473 square feet and a city-determined market value of $993.7 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $595.7 million in debt, with top three lenders as Deutsche Bank, Athene Holding, and Bank Hapoalim respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 72 percent of the 3,737,473 square feet of built space are office properties, with elevator properties next occupying 28 percent of the space. They are all located in Manhattan.

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