NEW YORK CITY-The Moinian Group’s repositioning of the formerNewsweek building at 1775 Broadway, threatened with foreclosure,has found a white knight in the form of SL Green Realty Corp. Thedeveloper and the REIT announced late Monday that they had formed ajoint venture to recapitalize the Midtown office property nearCentral Park, which Moinian is redeveloping as 3 ColumbusCircle.

According to a release, SL Green will make funds available forpaying off the $274.7-million mortgage and completing therepositioning and lease-up of the property, now largely vacant.Moinian will direct the completion of 3 Columbus Circle’s$175-million redevelopment, which includes recladding the83-year-old, 768,565-square-foot tower with a glass exterior.Citing an unnamed source, Bloomberg reported that the deal callsfor Moinian to cede 49% control of the property to SL Green.

In a statement, SL Green CEO Marc Holliday says his company hasworked with Moinian’s chairman and CEO, Joseph Moinian, “on severalhighly successful transactions, and look forward to teaming up withhim to complete the 3 Columbus Circle redevelopment project,delivering it to the market and leasing it up.” Moinian calls theoffice REIT, Manhattan’s largest landlord, “the ideal partner witha strong leasing track record in Manhattan.” A Moinian spokesmantells GlobeSt.com the company has no further comment at themoment.