Vornado Realty Trust’s Manhattan building directly across from the Empire State Building and housing Amazon as the only office tenant has landed a $250 million refinancing loan.
Vornado secured the commercial mortgage-backed securities loan for 7 W. 34th St., according to a presale report of the bond offering from credit-rating firm Morningstar DBRS. The property is a 12-story, 431,082-square-foot office building, according to CoStar data.
JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are originating the five-year loan with a fixed interest rate of 6.1%.
Vornado also is contributing another $54.5 million in borrower equity to refinance $300 million of existing debt and cover closing costs, Morningstar said. The existing debt matures in June, CoStar data shows.
A Vornado spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a CoStar News request seeking comment.
The property, built in 1901 as a department store and within walking distance of the Penn Station transit hub, was “heavily renovated” in 2014 by both Vornado and Amazon when the Seattle e-commerce giant became a tenant, to bring the property to Class A office quality standards, Morningstar said.
Between 2014 and 2024, Vornado spent about $79.2 million overhauling the space, including a $35 million tenant improvement package for Amazon, while Amazon itself has spent about $400 per square foot to build out its space, about $325 per square foot more than what it received in tenant allowances, Morningstar said. The space is used by Amazon’s Prime Now delivery service as well as by such other Amazon businesses as Amazon Web Services and Audible, Morningstar said.
As of Jan. 1, the building was 99.6% leased and primarily occupied by Amazon, Morningstar said. LensCrafters and Lindt chocolate have retail spaces at the property.
The refinancing comes as New York has led the United States in office market rebound and closed last year with its biggest office leasing volume since at least 2019.
The market’s solid recovery from the pandemic, on top of the Federal Reserve having reversed its string of rate hikes since 2022, also has contributed to a list of high-profile properties landing top-dollar refinancing transactions. For instance, Brookfield in the fall closed a $1.25 billion refinancing for 5 Manhattan West, at 450 W. 33rd St.