85 Broad St (courtesy of Yardi Matrix)
Ivanhoé Cambridge, one of the foremost Canadian real estate industry players, announced it has secured $72 million-worth of green bonds from Natixis. The loan is backed by 85 Broad, a 1.2 million-square-foot Lower Manhattan high-rise the company acquired in May.
Since last year’s G20 meeting, green financing–financing that focuses on investing in sustainable and environmentally-friendly projects–has been on the uptick. Natixis’ first green-specific tranche on the New York commercial real estate market signaled its contribution to the $53 billion green bonds issuance so far this year. With $81 billion worth of bonds issued in 2016, estimates for 2017 point to a doubling of the market by the end of the year.
The French lender also obtained a second opinion confirming the viability of the tranche for the LEED Platinum-certified 85 Broad as a sustainable investment via oekom research AG. Nathalie Palladitcheff, CFO at Ivanhoé Cambridge, declared: “This financing is a great example of how like-minded global players are able to work together to bring new green initiatives to the market, which is right in line with Ivanhoé Cambridge’s commitment towards sustainability.”
The $72 million loan has a 3.69% interest rate and is securitized through the Credit Suisse-sponsored CSAIL 2017-C8 series. The final deal includes three pari passu notes, a B-note and a mezzanine loan, bringing the grand total to $358.6 million for the 1983-built high-rise.
In 2015, a $112 million revamp of the property managed to almost double the occupancy rate, which currently rests at 87.1%, bringing in high-profile tenants like WeWork, Oppenheimer and Vox Media. Due to the use of several areas as trading floors by former tenant Goldman Sachs, the building has many large, column-less floors. Current amenities include a bike room, a full-service Belgian bistro and a wellness center operated by WeWork.
