Singer & Bassuk arranges financing for 52 Broadway.

The Singer & Bassuk Organization, a mortgage brokerage firm serving a select group of New York City's most prominent developers and investors, announced the completion of a $58.75 million financing transaction on behalf of an affiliate of Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc. Scott A. Singer, executive vice president of The Singer & Bassuk Organization, made the announcement.

Singer, together with Andrew J. Singer, chairman & CEO of The Singer & Bassuk Organization, arranged the financing of 52 Broadway in Manhattan's Financial District. The 400,000-SF, 20-story office building was formerly occupied by J.P. Morgan Chase and its corporate predecessors, Chase Manhattan Bank and Chemical Bank. This spring, the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the union representing New York City's public school teachers and educators, signed a long-term lease for the entire property, in conjunction with its purchase of the adjoining building at 50 Broadway. The UFT is moving its headquarters to the new property from its former location at 260 Park Avenue South.

The $58.75 million first mortgage loan was funded by Morgan Stanley's principal transactions group, with negotiations led by Jim Flaum, managing director; Chris Reilly, vice president; and Kevin Swartz, vice president.

In recounting the closing process, Singer said, "This was the second major deal we arranged between this client and Morgan Stanley this summer. In May, Morgan Stanley funded a $190 million loan for another Downtown Manhattan office property. All sides used the same team members and a wonderful working relationship has been established. The deal was not uncomplicated, and differed in many ways from the first transaction, yet was still completed in less than six weeks."

Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc. was founded in 1928 and has developed, owns and manages over five million square feet of commercial space and thousands of residences. Negotiations for the company were handled by Scott Resnick, president & chief operating officer; Steven J. Rotter, executive managing director -- finance & operations; and Kalpana Gajjar, managing director & general counsel. Scott Resnick said, "We are pleased to have completed another transaction with Morgan Stanley. They are leading the way in showing the lending community's continued faith in the strength of Downtown Manhattan."

Jonathan Mechanic and Jonathan Yormak of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson acted as borrower's counsel. Chris White, John Zizzo and Michael Lascher of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft represented the lender.