Extell lands $1.3B to finish 60-story Times Square tower
What's the deal? Extell Development has closed $1.25 billion in financing to complete The TorchDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, its 60-story hotel and retail tower under construction in Times Square. The package includes a $1.1 billion construction loan from a bank group led by JPMorgan and $150 million in mezzanine debt, per a filing with the Tel Aviv Stock ExchangeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? Extell has finished 40 of the tower's 60 stories, and the financing covers the remaining construction.
What's the endgame? The Torch centers on an 1,800-room hotel that would rank among the largest by room count in New York City. An unnamed international hotel chain has signed a 40-year franchise agreement, committing $60 million.
The details: Beyond the rooms, the project includes 130,000 square feet of advertising space, a drop tower ride, three observation decks, and 94,000 square feet of food and beverage space. Extell has signed a 15-year deal with a restaurant group to operate the tower's restaurants, bars, and observation deck.
Altogether, Extell projects net operating income of $250 million to $270 million annually, spread across room nights, food and beverage, advertising, and ticketed attractions.
What could go wrong? The wager rests on Times Square's tourism-driven foot traffic supporting a mixed-use tower built around hospitality and entertainment rather than office or residential space. That leans into the neighborhood's identity rather than competing with Midtown's office corridor.
The signal: At $1.25 billion, this ranks among the largest US debt raises on record — in the 99th percentile of more than 2,200 comparable deals. It shows lenders remain willing to underwrite big-ticket construction in one of the world's most visited destinations.
Read more: finance.yahoo.com
Image credit: Anthony Quintano
