Ivanhoé Cambridge Secures Green Bond for 85 Broad Street

85 Broad St (courtesy of Yardi Matrix)

Ivanhoé Cambridge, one of the foremost Canadian real estate industry players, announced it has secured $72 million-worth of green bonds from Natixis. The loan is backed by 85 Broad, a 1.2 million-square-foot Lower Manhattan high-rise the company acquired in May.

Since last year’s G20 meeting, green financing–financing that focuses on investing in sustainable and environmentally-friendly projects–has been on the uptick. Natixis’ first green-specific tranche on the New York commercial real estate market signaled its contribution to the $53 billion green bonds issuance so far this year. With $81 billion worth of bonds issued in 2016, estimates for 2017 point to a doubling of the market by the end of the year.

The French lender also obtained a second opinion confirming the viability of the tranche for the LEED Platinum-certified 85 Broad as a sustainable investment via oekom research AG. Nathalie Palladitcheff, CFO at Ivanhoé Cambridge, declared: “This financing is a great example of how like-minded global players are able to work together to bring new green initiatives to the market, which is right in line with Ivanhoé Cambridge’s commitment towards sustainability.”

The $72 million loan has a 3.69% interest rate and is securitized through the Credit Suisse-sponsored CSAIL 2017-C8 series. The final deal includes three pari passu notes, a B-note and a mezzanine loan, bringing the grand total to $358.6 million for the 1983-built high-rise.

In 2015, a $112 million revamp of the property managed to almost double the occupancy rate, which currently rests at 87.1%, bringing in high-profile tenants like WeWork, Oppenheimer and Vox Media. Due to the use of several areas as trading floors by former tenant Goldman Sachs, the building has many large, column-less floors. Current amenities include a bike room, a full-service Belgian bistro and a wellness center operated by WeWork.