NEW YORK CITY-Metropole Realty Advisors has secured a $150-million refinancing as well as $25 million of mezzanine financing for 681 Fifth Ave., the former Fortunoff building. The fixed-rate refi comes from Ladder Capital LLC, while Malkin Strategic Capital provided the mezz loan.

In a release, Metropole says the capital will be used to pay off any outstanding debt and to fund additional pre-built floors in the 17-story tower. It’s being marketed for lease by a Cushman & Wakefield team including Bruce Mosler, chairman of global brokerage, and Arthur Mirante, president of global business development.

Already, the leasing campaign is paying off for a property that as recently as last fall sat largely vacant. Vision Capital Americas LLC, the US arm of UK-based investment company Vision Capital, leased an entire floor, as did Global Thematic Partners, an independent investment management boutique launched in 2010 by Deutsche Asset Management. Additionally, Metropole leased and occupies a full floor.

Ladder Capital managing director Peter Smith worked together with Metropole’s Robert Siegel and KT Bren to complete the deal. The three had previously worked together when Ladder provided the debt for Metropole’s 2004 acquisition of a luxury retail property on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. In a release, Malkin Properties SVP George Perry says the Malkin organization was moved to provide mezz financing because of “the fantastic quality of the real estate and a very attractive position relative to asset value.”

Originally built in 1912, 681 Fifth was the original home of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For three decades, it was owned by the Fortunoff family, which leased 15,000 square feet of retail space there after selling it to Metropole in 2005, which extensively renovated it.