The landmarked 108 Leonard Street
The Peebles Corporation and El Ad Group, both leading national real estate development and investment companies with billions of dollars in completed and current developments in New York City and around the nation, have secured a $411M financing package for the conversion of 108 Leonard Street — the old New York Life Insurance Company building — in New York City.
The closing of the loan comes two years after the acquisition of the landmarked building, constructed between 1894 and 1898, and designed by the legendary McKim, Mead & White architecture firm, marks the acceleration of construction and conversion of the building into a high-end residential tower.
The financing package is composed of a $334M senior loan and a $77M mezzanine loan. For the senior loan, Bank of America is the lead lender for a syndicate of other financial institutions including Wells Fargo and Union Bank. Apollo provided the mezzanine loan of $77M. Along with the partners equity, the project financing totals over half of a billion dollars.
“We are excited to continue the long relationship we’ve had with Bank of America and partner on another luxurious and transformational development,” said R. Donahue Peebles, Chairman and CEO of The Peebles Corporation. “The loan will allow us to proceed expeditiously with the conversion of our landmarked building and creation of one of the most desirable addresses in New York City.”
Peebles and El Ad partnered on the development in December 2013 after The Peebles Corporation won the rights to acquire the building from the City of New York under the Bloomberg Administration. Peebles and El Ad purchased the Tribeca building for $160M. The building contains nearly 430,000-square-feet, as well as on-site parking spaces for purchase. Current plans include converting the court and office building into approximately 150 luxury condominium units and landmark retail space.
The Peebles Corporation is a privately held national real estate investment and development company specializing in residential, hospitality, retail, and mixed-use commercial properties. Founded in 1983 by R. Donahue Peebles, the company has become an industry leader with a portfolio of completed and current developments totaling 6 million square feet and more than $5 billion in key markets including New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston, Miami and Miami Beach.
Elad Group, with several billion dollars in assets, is one of the nation’s leading real estate companies. Since inception, the firm has focused on the acquisition, development and conversion of architecturally significant residential and commercial properties in key markets throughout the United States.
Elad’s New York portfolio of iconic buildings includes One West End, the first and tallest condominium project to come to market in Christian de Portzamparc’s masterfully-designed Riverside Center, which was developed in partnership with Silverstein Properties Inc., 22 Central Park South, an exquisite collection of full-floor luxury condominium residences overlooking Manhattan’s famed Central Park, and 250 West Street, a 1906 warehouse turned luxury condominium in the heart of TriBeCa’s historic landmark district.
On the West Coast, Elad also designed and developed The Carlyle Residences, a 24-story luxury condominium that sits along the Golden Mile of L.A.’s coveted Wilshire Corridor. Known and recognized worldwide for the history-making, restoration and conversion of the famed Plaza Hotel, Elad Group is continuously making strides in real estate and receiving public acclaim for many of its properties.
In 2013, The Real Deal named 250 West Street as one of New York City’s bestselling new residential developments. Elite Traveler Magazine also named 22 Central Park South, 250 West Street and The Carlyle Residences as Top Worldwide Residential Real Estate Developments in its prestigious 2014 ‘Best Of’ issue.
In 2014, 22 Central Park South earned The NAHB National Sales and Marketing Council Silver Award for best brochure and in 2015 received the Best of Manhattan Award in the Real Estate. Elad’s newest project, One West End, earned the NAHB National Sales and Marketing Council Silver Award for Best Presentation Center and was selected by the International Property Awards as the Top Residential High-Rise Development for New York, winning the 5 Star Award. This is the top honor for this category.
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services.
The company serves about 47 million consumer and small business relationships and has 4,700 retail financial centers and 16,100 ATMs. Its online banking has 32 million active users and more than 18 million mobile users. The bank supports about three million small business owners and operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and in more than 35 countries.
