DUMBO Empire Stores Developers Obtain $161M Loan Secured by One Broadway
Square Mile Capital provided the loan to Rockwood Capital and Midtown Equities to create a complex similar to the Brooklyn development in the Battery Park neighborhood.
NEW YORK CITY—The joint venture of Rockwood Capital and Midtown Equities obtained $161 million in financing from Square Mile Capital. The loan was secured by the property at One Broadway, also known as the International Mercantile Marine Company Building.
The loan will finance the acquisition, capital improvements and leasing plan to reposition One Broadway as office headquarters marketed to creative industries. Rockwood and Midtown purchased the 12-story office building that was originally constructed in 1884 in May 2018 for approximately $140 million from Stoffel & Partners, according to Real Capital Analytics.
“We are pleased to develop a new lending relationship with both Rockwood Capital and Midtown Equities, recognized owners and operators in the New York market,” says Square Mile Capital principal Sean Reimer. “This partnership has proven out a very similar business plan at its Empire Stores project in Dumbo, and we believe it is the ideal team to deliver this type of asset which will be unique to the Downtown market.”
The Empire Stores conversion was an adaptive reuse project that converted seven vacant warehouses on the Brooklyn waterfront to office and retail space. Restoring older property, the developers added new construction on top of existing structures creating 380,000 square feet of space for office, restaurant, retail and commercial uses.
One Broadway currently is mostly vacant, according to Square Mile Capital. It features a historic, landmarked limestone façade dating back to when the building housed the headquarters of J.P. Morgan’s International Mercantile Marine Company. It is located next to Battery Park in Lower Manhattan.
Steve Kohn and Alex Hernandez of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the financing.