Starwood Lead Funder on Hudson Yards Loan

Starwood Property Trust is the lead on a group of lenders which is funding a $475 million construction loan to Related Cos. and Oxford Property Group to build the first tower of the Hudson Yards Project on the West Side of Manhattan.

Hudson Yards is adjacent to the Jacob Javits Convention Center and was the location that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg had proposed for a football stadium/Olympics stadium. That proposal failed to gain political traction and as a result a plan for this development was created.

Starwood, which just priced a secondary common stock offering, will fund $350 million of the combined first mortgage and mezzanine loan, with the rest contributed by Oxford and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. The loan will fund the construction of the South Tower.

The interest rate floats over Libor and the loan matures in four years with a one-year extension option.

This tower will be 47-stories high and tenants include Coach Inc., L’Oreal USA and SAP. Occupancy is slated for 2015.

The entire Hudson Yards project is slated to have 13 million square feet of office, residential and retail space, plus 14 acres of open space and parks.