Millennium Tower (Filene's) | 426 Washington Street | Downtown
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JimboJones
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Re: Filene's
So, was anyone by the site today? Was there any activity?
Hynes' money is by way of Morgan Stanley; at least, the Seaport Square money is.
Just wondering if the company's troubles are having any effects.
So, was anyone by the site today? Was there any activity?
Hynes' money is by way of Morgan Stanley; at least, the Seaport Square money is.
Just wondering if the company's troubles are having any effects.
Re: Filene's
I did walk by the site at about 7:30 this morning there was a crew there. I was walking up summer street so I didn't get a look in the pit, but I could here machines moving. Not sure if they have upgraded to the skeleton crew that was there most of the summer
I did walk by the site at about 7:30 this morning there was a crew there. I was walking up summer street so I didn't get a look in the pit, but I could here machines moving. Not sure if they have upgraded to the skeleton crew that was there most of the summer
stellarfun
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Re: Filene's
There was an article in yesterday's NY Times that Vornado has put two towers in NYC on hold, one for Major league Baseball cable, didn't have enough additional tenants.
There was an article in yesterday's NY Times that Vornado has put two towers in NYC on hold, one for Major league Baseball cable, didn't have enough additional tenants.
kz1000ps
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Re: Filene's
One Franklin Developer Struggling to Land Financing
Boston Business Journal - by Michelle Hillman
Friday, October 24, 2008
Gale International CEO John B. Hynes III is about $50 million shy of the $400 million needed to finance the $700 million project at the site of the former Filene?s building.
Hynes has lined up six banks, including Bank of America Corp. and Bank of Ireland, and believes he can close the deal by the end of the year.
?We need a $400 million loan,? said Hynes. ?We have between $350 million and $400 million right now. We do not have the loan. We have loan commitments for almost all of the funds required.?
Hynes is navigating choppy waters. He?s trying to arrange a large construction loan in one of the most difficult lending environments since the Depression.
A half dozen banks have pledged to loan Hynes close to $400 million but the institutions still need to sign on the dotted line, he said.
Hynes long ago secured $300 million in equity, but without the $400 million in debt the 1.2 million square-foot project in the heart of Downtown Crossing will not be able to move forward. Hynes could also lose the tenants he has tentatively signed up to lease space in the building ? among them the law firm Fish & Richardson PC, which has agreed to lease 120,000 square feet of office space, and Club Monaco, which has agreed to lease 4,170 square feet of retail space. Hynes said converting the letters of intent into leases rides on the loan closing and the project getting built on time.
?If there?s no loan there?s no space,? he said.
Time is running out for Hynes. ?You get to a point in time ... our own money is only going to get half the project built. We need the loan.?
In the past year Hynes has shopped his project around to at least 20 different banks and has watched helplessly as the market eroded and construction financing slipped through his fingers. At one point Sovereign Bank was one of the banks considering funding the deal, but never committed, said Hynes.
A year ago Hynes had four banks committed to provide $500 million in debt. Owners were to put in $200 million in equity. Then in April, the deal, and the market, started coming apart. Two of the four banks decided to reduce the amount of debt pledged by $100 million and the other two banks dropped out completely.
Hynes was told to restructure the deal and come back. Bottom line: the banks could only commit to $400 million in debt, meaning Hynes and his partners Vornado Real Estate (NYSE: VNO), had to put in another $100 million in equity.
Developers have since turned to small banks and foreign banks in place of larger domestic banks. Because of that, it takes many more banks, or combinations thereof, to amass enough financing to close a large deal.
Many of the smaller banks are now trying to hold onto money for their own customers, said Peter Goedecke of Boston-based Goedecke & Co. LLC, which arranges financing for developers.
?The major banks are justifiably preoccupied with the national (impacts) of the credit crisis,? said Goedecke.
The trouble developers are having obtaining construction loans is a national problem, not a local one. However, a number of Boston developers are in the same pickle as Hynes including John Drew and Joseph Fallon, who are on tap to build two of the city?s largest projects on the South Boston waterfront. Drew has plans to build 600,000 square feet of retail space in South Boston but is in no rush to get started. Fallon is working to arrange financing for a 500,000-square-foot building he plans to lease to Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
?We?re just going to proceed slowly because the market is so poor,? Drew said. ?It?s bad. It?s very hard to get a loan that you?re willing to accept right now.?
The pressure is mounting for Hynes, who is being closely watched by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has chastised developers publicly for moving forward with demolition and construction despite not having financing.
?There is no question that this is the most difficult time in my memory, particularly for large projects to arrange construction financing,? said George Fantini of Fantini & Gorga.
Hynes knows it will be a challenge to close a construction loan but he?s determined to get the deal done. And if the loan doesn?t close by the end of the year?
?We?re not going to think about that,? he said. ?We?re going to (get the loan).?
Link
One Franklin Developer Struggling to Land Financing
Boston Business Journal - by Michelle Hillman
Friday, October 24, 2008
Gale International CEO John B. Hynes III is about $50 million shy of the $400 million needed to finance the $700 million project at the site of the former Filene?s building.
Hynes has lined up six banks, including Bank of America Corp. and Bank of Ireland, and believes he can close the deal by the end of the year.
?We need a $400 million loan,? said Hynes. ?We have between $350 million and $400 million right now. We do not have the loan. We have loan commitments for almost all of the funds required.?
Hynes is navigating choppy waters. He?s trying to arrange a large construction loan in one of the most difficult lending environments since the Depression.
A half dozen banks have pledged to loan Hynes close to $400 million but the institutions still need to sign on the dotted line, he said.
Hynes long ago secured $300 million in equity, but without the $400 million in debt the 1.2 million square-foot project in the heart of Downtown Crossing will not be able to move forward. Hynes could also lose the tenants he has tentatively signed up to lease space in the building ? among them the law firm Fish & Richardson PC, which has agreed to lease 120,000 square feet of office space, and Club Monaco, which has agreed to lease 4,170 square feet of retail space. Hynes said converting the letters of intent into leases rides on the loan closing and the project getting built on time.
?If there?s no loan there?s no space,? he said.
Time is running out for Hynes. ?You get to a point in time ... our own money is only going to get half the project built. We need the loan.?
In the past year Hynes has shopped his project around to at least 20 different banks and has watched helplessly as the market eroded and construction financing slipped through his fingers. At one point Sovereign Bank was one of the banks considering funding the deal, but never committed, said Hynes.
A year ago Hynes had four banks committed to provide $500 million in debt. Owners were to put in $200 million in equity. Then in April, the deal, and the market, started coming apart. Two of the four banks decided to reduce the amount of debt pledged by $100 million and the other two banks dropped out completely.
Hynes was told to restructure the deal and come back. Bottom line: the banks could only commit to $400 million in debt, meaning Hynes and his partners Vornado Real Estate (NYSE: VNO), had to put in another $100 million in equity.
Developers have since turned to small banks and foreign banks in place of larger domestic banks. Because of that, it takes many more banks, or combinations thereof, to amass enough financing to close a large deal.
Many of the smaller banks are now trying to hold onto money for their own customers, said Peter Goedecke of Boston-based Goedecke & Co. LLC, which arranges financing for developers.
?The major banks are justifiably preoccupied with the national (impacts) of the credit crisis,? said Goedecke.
The trouble developers are having obtaining construction loans is a national problem, not a local one. However, a number of Boston developers are in the same pickle as Hynes including John Drew and Joseph Fallon, who are on tap to build two of the city?s largest projects on the South Boston waterfront. Drew has plans to build 600,000 square feet of retail space in South Boston but is in no rush to get started. Fallon is working to arrange financing for a 500,000-square-foot building he plans to lease to Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
?We?re just going to proceed slowly because the market is so poor,? Drew said. ?It?s bad. It?s very hard to get a loan that you?re willing to accept right now.?
The pressure is mounting for Hynes, who is being closely watched by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has chastised developers publicly for moving forward with demolition and construction despite not having financing.
?There is no question that this is the most difficult time in my memory, particularly for large projects to arrange construction financing,? said George Fantini of Fantini & Gorga.
Hynes knows it will be a challenge to close a construction loan but he?s determined to get the deal done. And if the loan doesn?t close by the end of the year?
?We?re not going to think about that,? he said. ?We?re going to (get the loan).?
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Re: Filene's
That sucks but it's not surprising.
It's interesting how after every amount of money they added the phrase "in debt". The wouldn't have done that a year ago. Glad people are realizing how this whole thing really works.
That sucks but it's not surprising.
It's interesting how after every amount of money they added the phrase "in debt". The wouldn't have done that a year ago. Glad people are realizing how this whole thing really works.
Ron Newman
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Re: Filene's
Once again, I wonder: at what point will he be breaching the contract with long-term tenant Filene's Basement, who are supposed to reopen their store at this location next year?
Once again, I wonder: at what point will he be breaching the contract with long-term tenant Filene's Basement, who are supposed to reopen their store at this location next year?
TheRifleman
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Re: Filene's
This is probably the worst situation a developer could be facing these days. The problem here is TIMING. The market is in Turmoil. Banks are trying to clean up their balance sheets not bring on more DEBT.
Hynes has his hands full between the tenants, Filene's Basement & the Mayor.
Need to bring on a equity partner, which will dilute their stake.
This is probably the worst situation a developer could be facing these days. The problem here is TIMING. The market is in Turmoil. Banks are trying to clean up their balance sheets not bring on more DEBT.
Hynes has his hands full between the tenants, Filene's Basement & the Mayor.
Need to bring on a equity partner, which will dilute their stake.
TheRifleman
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Re: Filene's
I'm not saying it won't get down. I'm saying they will have to dilute their Equity stake.
It's just bad timing in the market right now.
I'm not saying it won't get down. I'm saying they will have to dilute their Equity stake.
It's just bad timing in the market right now.
pelhamhall
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Re: Filene's
I predicted several months ago that the hurried demolition of the Filene's building in the face of the commercial credit crisis was a tool that the developer used to now come hat-in-hand to the Mayor and say: "aw shucks, poor us, so sad to say, but it ain't our fault yer honor, but ya see... we can't get financing and we've put a hole into your downtown, and say, could you spare a few dozen million dollars? Maybe some tax credits or something? I mean, we are rebuilding an entire MBTA station - the most busy one on the whole system, and we had no idea once we started building that it was going to be this tough, because we uncovered loose sediment, bla bla bla bla bla, and not our fault, but the credit crisis is making it so hard to get the money we thought we would be able to get, bla bla bla bla bla bla - GIVE US MONEY."
It's the same tool the developers of Columbus Center have used - rip the site up and then sit on it - make it worse than when you bought the site, then everyone wants to help at least make it status quo again. Genius. Devious.
We'll see where this ends up. The wild card here is the Seaport Square development. How badly does Hynes want to hurt his already frayed relationship with the mayor on the Filene's project, and what does that mean for Seaport Square proposals?
At some point, my bet is Hynes approaches the Big Government establishment for a hand-out.
After all, rebuilding the hole in DTX is in the best interests of all citizens of Boston.
(conveniently forgetting that the hole was put there by an entity that would in this scenario now take tax money to plug it back up to then profit)
I predicted several months ago that the hurried demolition of the Filene's building in the face of the commercial credit crisis was a tool that the developer used to now come hat-in-hand to the Mayor and say: "aw shucks, poor us, so sad to say, but it ain't our fault yer honor, but ya see... we can't get financing and we've put a hole into your downtown, and say, could you spare a few dozen million dollars? Maybe some tax credits or something? I mean, we are rebuilding an entire MBTA station - the most busy one on the whole system, and we had no idea once we started building that it was going to be this tough, because we uncovered loose sediment, bla bla bla bla bla, and not our fault, but the credit crisis is making it so hard to get the money we thought we would be able to get, bla bla bla bla bla bla - GIVE US MONEY."
It's the same tool the developers of Columbus Center have used - rip the site up and then sit on it - make it worse than when you bought the site, then everyone wants to help at least make it status quo again. Genius. Devious.
We'll see where this ends up. The wild card here is the Seaport Square development. How badly does Hynes want to hurt his already frayed relationship with the mayor on the Filene's project, and what does that mean for Seaport Square proposals?
At some point, my bet is Hynes approaches the Big Government establishment for a hand-out.
After all, rebuilding the hole in DTX is in the best interests of all citizens of Boston.
(conveniently forgetting that the hole was put there by an entity that would in this scenario now take tax money to plug it back up to then profit)
Ron Newman
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Re: Filene's
The developer is rebuilding a T station?
The developer is rebuilding a T station?
Suffolk 83
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Re: Filene's
PelHam, did you predict this when this was proposed?
PelHam, did you predict this when this was proposed?
Re: Filene's
Did anyone catch Chronicle last week? They talked about this project listed of the stores that are already lined up. I think they said they've leased 65% already. I recorded the show and next chance I'll double check that figure and list the stores they mentioned.
These look like some new pictures:
http://www.galeintl.com/Projects/Default.aspx?id=3
Is there a web site yet?
Did anyone catch Chronicle last week? They talked about this project listed of the stores that are already lined up. I think they said they've leased 65% already. I recorded the show and next chance I'll double check that figure and list the stores they mentioned.
These look like some new pictures:
http://www.galeintl.com/Projects/Default.aspx?id=3
Is there a web site yet?
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