Soloviev Winning Streak Rages On With $1.8B Refinancing

Everything’s coming up roses for Stefan Soloviev at 9 West 57th Street.

Fresh off a record office lease, the Soloviev Group is closing in on a $1.8 billion loan to refinance the Billionaires’ Row property, Bisnow reported. The five-year loan, which will pay off the existing $1.2 billion mortgage that carries a 2.85 percent interest rate, was first disclosed by S&P Global.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citi Real Estate Funding are issuing the debt to Soloviev. The landlord subsequently announced the interest rate of the loan was 4.97 percent and that the building would be valued at $3.9 billion upon stabilization.

The refinancing is expected to close by the end of this month and fund $40 million in closing costs and $34 million in landlord obligations. Another $526 million would be going right into Soloviev’s pocket in the form of cash.

“This refinancing is a clear validation of the strength of 9 West 57th Street and the collaborative success of lead lender Bank of America, and secondary leads Wells Fargo and Citibank,” Soloviev said in a statement.

News of the refinancing comes a month after 28-year-old Mexican billionaire Gonzalo Hevia Baillères was revealed to be behind a record lease at the property. His holding company, HBeyond, signed a record-setting 10-year lease for $327.50-per-square-foot, covering 5,063 square feet on the 50th floor.

The previous record-holder belonged to SL Green’s One Vanderbilt, which in 2022 signed a 9,871 square-foot deal exceeding $300 per square foot on its highest office floor with the Canadian waste management company GFL Environmental.

Last year, there were 28 deals in New York at $200 per square foot or higher, including six deals above $250; Soloviev signed three of those $200-plus deals at 9 West 57th Street.

Soloviev made leasing up the building a priority and said he was aiming for “the highest rents in the city” there. A $45 million renovation included upgrades to the lobby, elevator and technology system. A fitness center features two pools and a golf simulator. Art works by Alberto Giacometti, Henry Matisse, Vincent van Gogh and Basquiat are on view on the ground floor.

— Holden Walter-Warner