CIM Group Lands $245M for Brooklyn Office Campus
CIM Group has secured a $245 million refinancing loan for Panorama, a 670,000-square-foot office campus in Brooklyn, N.Y., according to CommercialEdge data.
JPMorganChase originated the note. The lender also held the previous loan, amounting to $245 million as well, that was issued in 2022.
Located on two city blocks at 25, 30, 50, 58 Columbia Heights and 55 Furman St., the five-building complex is within walking distance of Brooklyn Bridge. Lower Manhattan is roughly 2 miles away.
The office campus, formerly known as The Watchtower, debuted between the 1920s and 1930s. It served as the headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses until 2016, when a joint venture of CIM, LIVWRK and Kushner Cos. purchased it for $340 million.
The Class A buildings—some rising 12 stories—unite through an interconnecting sky bridge. Property features comprise floorplates ranging from 6,975 to 26,860 square feet and 82,659 square feet of retail space, as well as 90,000 square feet of film studio space.
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In 2018, Kushner sold its stake in the property. One year later, the remaining partners repositioned the campus as a creative office environment, rebranding it to Panorama. JPMorganChase issued a $335 million construction loan for the Gensler-designed revamp, CommercialEdge shows.
Demand for office space goes up in Brooklyn
Office leasing activity surged in Brooklyn during the first quarter of this year with a volume of 571,471 square feet, according to a report by Colliers. The figure nearly tripled year-over-year, expanding from just 206,515 square feet in the first three months of 2024.
The average asking rent was down 1.4 percent over the quarter to $49.72 per square foot, the report shows. However, average rents for Class A space witnessed a small uptick of 0.4 percent, clocking in at $60.78 per square foot.
In one of the largest leasing deals of the quarter, Tishman Speyer signed Brooklyn Prospect Charter School as a tenant at The Wheeler. The school network agreed to occupy 150,000 square feet at the property for the next 35 years.
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