Press
Releases
10/17/2000
Blackstone Acquires Debt on 7 World Trade Center
New
York, NY – October 17, 2000: Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, the global real
estate investment and management arm of The Blackstone Group, L.P., announced
today that it has purchased, from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association,
the participating mortgage secured by 7 World Trade Center, a commercial office
complex controlled by real estate developer Larry Silverstein.
Located
in downtown Manhattan, 7 World Trade Center is a 47 story, Class A, office
tower containing 2 million square feet of office space. The property, which is
100% occupied, houses some of Manhattan’s premier companies including Salomon
Smith Barney, Hartford Fire Insurance, American Express and the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission.
The
mortgage contains certain features which allow Blackstone, as the lender, to
share in the improvement in performance of the asset over time through its
maturity in 2006. Average rents in the building are currently $45 per square
foot, reflecting a significant discount to current market rents. Additional
terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Steve
Galiotos, a Managing Director of The Blackstone Group, said, "Rising
rental rates coupled with the lack of available office space in downtown
Manhattan, made 7 World Trade Center an attractive investment opportunity for
Blackstone. We are pleased to be a lender to Larry Silverstein, a seasoned real
estate veteran, on one of Manhattan’s trophy properties." 7 World Trade
Center is the second investment made by Blackstone in a Silverstein office
building. In April 2000, Blackstone formed a joint venture with Larry
Silverstein and Walton Street Capital to own and operate the Equitable Building
at 120 Broadway in downtown Manhattan.
Larry
Silverstein stated that "Blackstone has one of the most exceptional track
records in real estate investment and we are pleased to have them as a primary
lender to a premier New York office property. Their commitment demonstrates the
strength of this market."
About Silverstein
Properties, Inc.
Silverstein
Properties Inc. is a Manhattan-based real estate development and investment
firm that owns, manages, and has developed more than 20 million square feet of
office, residential and retail space. The office space is located primarily in
the financial district of downtown Manhattan and along Fifth Avenue in midtown.
Current projects in development include River Place, the entire 42nd
Street block between 11th and 12th Avenues, with two 40-story residential
towers to contain a total of 1,800 apartments, retails and parking facilities.
The
Blackstone Group, a private investment bank with offices in New York and
London, was founded in 1985 by its Chairman, Peter G. Peterson, and its
President and CEO, Stephen A. Schwarzman. Blackstone’s Real Estate Group has
raised three funds representing approximately $3 billion in total equity. The
group has made around 100 separate investments in hotels and other commercial
properties with a total transaction value of about $11 billion. In addition to
real estate, The Blackstone Group’s core businesses include Mergers and
Acquisitions Advisory, Restructuring and Reorganization Advisory, Private
Equity Investing, Private Mezzanine Investing, and Liquid Alternative Asset
Investing.
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