Clarion, NYS pension fund sign $600M initial loan with state’s Common Retirement Fund for office building in Grand Central

Clarion Partners and the New York State Common Retirement Fund through the entity Comref 380, LLC as borrower signed a initial loan with lender NYS Common Retirement Fund through the entity Comptroller Of The State Of New York, As Trustee valued at $600 million for the office building (O4) at 390 Madison Avenue in Grand Central, Manhattan.
The deal closed on May 26, 2021 and was recorded on June 17, 2021.
A spokesperson for the Comptroller said this was not a typical loan, as the “lender” was also the owner.

“What this reflects isn’t a ‘loan’ per se,” the spokesperson said in an email. “This shows an internal transfer of funds from its Fixed Income portfolio to its Real Estate portfolio. The transaction was beneficial to both asset classes from a return respective.”

The property has 821,165 square feet of built space and 0 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 381,600 square feet according to PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $730 per the PincusCo analysis.

The signatory for Clarion Partners and the NYS Common Retirement Fund was Margaret L. Egan, of Clarion. The signatory for NYS Common Retirement Fund was Navyug Patel.
(121237072)The DOB issued a major alteration (A1) initial temporary certificate of occupancy for the building on November 21, 2018.
The New York State Common Retirement Fund, which owns the building, made a $600 million loan to the building. Clarion Partners manages the asset for the Common Retirement Fund. This is the first debt the fund has recorded on the property. A spokesperson for the fund did not immediately respond for comment.
Within a 400-foot radius of 390 Madison Avenue, PincusCo identified 11 commercial real estate items of interests occurred over the past 24 months.
Of those 11 items, two were sales above $5 million totaling $219.3 million. The most recent of the two was 54 Madison Partners which bought the 115,924-square-foot, one-unit hotel (H9) on 12 East 48th Street and one other property for $104.3 million from Hidrock Realty on August 13, 2020.
Of those 11 items, nine were loans above $5 million totaling $639.3 million. The most recent of the nine was Nightingale Properties which borrowed $18 million from East West Bank secured by the 87,016-square-foot, 35-unit office building (O6) on 18 East 46th Street on June 7, 2021.

Direct link to Acris document. link