111-W.-57th-Street

AIG, Apollo Provide $725M Loan for Residential Skyscraper in New York City

by Haisten Willis

NEW YORK CITY — AIG (NYSE: AIG) and Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) have provided a $725 million loan to developers JDS Development and Property Markets Group for the construction of a 90-story residential tower at the former site of the Steinway & Sons piano showroom.

The 1,438-foot-tall tower at 111 W. 57th St., which will be one of the tallest residential buildings in the Western hemisphere, is scheduled for completion in 2018. The tower will be just 60 feet wide, and will include 60 condos ranging from two to five bedrooms.

According to Crain’s New York Business, the entire property will cost $1 billion to construct. AIG is the senior lender, and Apollo is providing a mezzanine loan. Construction began on the site last year as a foundation was poured and an existing building was renovated.

AIG’s debt on the project is approximately $400 million, while Apollo’s loan is $325 million, according to media sources.

Kasowitz Benson Torres’s transactional real estate practice group represented JDS Development and Property Markets Group in closing the loan.

“Opportunities like this are why we choose to become real estate lawyers — a skyline-altering project that the Kasowitz team worked on at every stage of development hand-in-hand with the client, not just as lawyers executing a deal, but also as advisors working with the client throughout the past two years to help steer the project to this very successful moment,” says Douglas Heitner, who led the Kasowitz team.

APO’s stock price closed at $22.15 per share on Tuesday, June 30, down from $27.72 one year ago.

AIG’s stock price closed at $61.82 per share on June 30, up from $54.58 per share one year ago.

— Haisten Willis

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