DuMont Building secures loan extension after default; owner invests ‘significant’ new equity
Crain's New York · Aaron Elstein — 2023-03-30
The DuMont Building has closed on a three-year loan extension and secured new leases two months after defaulting, its owner said today.
“GFP Real Estate has committed significant new equity for future leasing and tenant improvement needs,” Chairman Jeffrey Gural said in a statement, adding he expects the art deco building in Midtown to be “fully leased” by year’s end.
The firm declined to comment further.
The DuMont at 515 Madison Ave. defaulted when a $103 million loan matured at the end of January. Like many older structures, it struggled to retain tenants and faced a 25% vacancy rate in the summer, Fitch Ratings said in a February report, with Memorial Sloan Kettering expected to depart upon the expiration of its lease.
GFP owns 60 mostly prewar office and apartment buildings across the city. It’s a 25% owner of the Flatiron Building but may soon become the lead owner after the top bidder at last week’s auction failed to come up with the money.
Gural said the DuMont has secured more than 32,000 square feet in new leases this year from high-end fashion retailers Zadig & Voltaire and Mark Ingram Atelier, among others.
**Iron Hound Management** negotiated the loan extension on GFP’s behalf.