Finance Institutional Investment
Landmark Boston, NYC Properties Acquire Financing
July 8, 2008
By: Tonie Auer, Contributing Correspondent

While deals may be slowing down, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has arranged two deals--one for $85 million for the Boston Harbor Garage in Boston and one for $90 million refinancing for 401 West 14th St., a 62,000-square-foot retail and office building in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

401WestThe Boston office of HFF handled the Boston Harbor deal. The 1,380-space parking garage with 30,000 square feet of street-level retail is located at 70 East India Road in downtown Boston, adjacent to the New England Aquarium and along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a recently created boulevard with a series of parks linking several urban neighborhoods.

HFF senior managing director Riaz Cassum and real estate analyst Carlos Febres-Mazzei repped a joint venture between The Chiofaro Co. and Prudential Real Estate Investors to secure the five-year, fixed-rate loan through Hartford Investment Management Co. The venture acquired the property in an all-cash transaction in December 2007. The Boston Globe reported on Dec. 14, that the sale price was $155 million.

HFF’s New York office worked exclusively on behalf of the owner of 401 West 14th St. The owner is a partnership comprised of affiliates of Taconic Investment Partners L.L.C. and ING Clarion Partners. HFF’s managing director Evan Pariser and senior real estate analyst Todd Newman placed the five-year, adjustable-rate loan with Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale (Helaba).

Originally constructed in 1927, 401 West 14th St. underwent major redevelopment and repositioning since it was acquired by the owners in 2005, including the addition of a 9,000-square-foot penthouse and a complete renovation of the base building. The four-story, Class A property (pictured) is currently 100 percent leased to Apple Inc., Hugo Boss Retail Inc., Moschino and Tudor Investment Corp. The anchor tenant, Apple Inc., leases a portion of the ground floor and the entire second and third floors, as well as the rooftop billboard.

The Chiofaro Co. is a privately held, independent firm engaged in the development, investment, leasing, management and ownership of real estate properties, including Boston’s International Place.

 
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