PITTSBURGH-A partnership based in New York City has secured a $220-million conduit loan via Meridian Capital to buy the landmark US Steel Tower here, GlobeSt.com has exclusively learned. The 10-year, fixed-rate permanent financing, which closed Friday, was secured by Meridian managing director Rael Gervis and CEO Ralph Herzka, both of Meridian’s New York City office, and was originated by UBS. Meridian declines to discuss terms but says they’re “favorable.”

Citing unnamed sources, the Wall Street Journal reported in February that a group led by Mark Karasick had reached a tentative agreement to buy the 2.3-million-square-foot tower from an ownership team including AREA Property Partners and Winthrop Realty Partners. The deal, reportedly arranged by Adam Spies at Eastdil Secured, was contingent upon the Karasick group obtaining financing, the WSJ said, and the group reportedly sought a loan to cover about 70% of the purchase price. Karasick and a spokeswoman for AREA did not respond to GlobeSt.com’s requests for comment late Friday afternoon and Sunday.

Real Capital Analytics, which lists the deal as being under contract, puts the purchase price for the 64-story office property at 600 Grant St. at $250 million, or $109 per square foot. At that rate, 70% financing would equate to $175 million. Commercial Mortgage Alert reported on Friday that UBS had gotten an assignment to originate a 10-year fixed-rate loan for $175 million, plus a $45-million reserve for tenant improvements and other costs.

The WSJ reported in February that the tower’s ownership tapped Eastdil to market the property after having trouble refinancing $225 million worth of debt that came due this past September. Junior lender Five Mile Capital began foreclosure proceedings in December, according to the WSJ, but then agreed to a short-term reprieve while the ownership sought a buyer for the property, Pittsburgh’s tallest skyscraper. Friday’s deal to acquire the property means Five Mile’s $25-million mezzanine note was paid off in full, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Post-Gazette quoted a Five Mile representative as saying, “I think it’s a great long-term asset. If we didn’t get paid off, we would have foreclosed and owned it long term, five to seven years.”

Built in 1970 as the headquarters for US Steel, the tower is considered architecturally notable for its triangular shape with indented corners and its use of corrosion-resistant steel in the fa