- Soloviev Group closed a $1.8B CMBS refinancing for 9 W. 57th St., generating roughly $526M in cash proceeds after paying off existing debt and obligations.
- The owner spent $53M upgrading the 1.7M SF Midtown office tower, helping push occupancy above 91% and driving NOI up 45% since 2021.
- The deal highlights continued lender appetite for trophy Manhattan office assets even as broader office fundamentals remain uneven and interest rates stay elevated.
Soloviev Group has secured a massive refinancing at 9 W. 57th St., extracting more than half a billion dollars from one of Manhattan’s most recognizable office towers. According to Bisnow, the $1.8B CMBS loan, provided by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citi Real Estate Funding, replaces existing debt on the Billionaires’ Row property and underscores investor demand for elite New York office assets.
The refinancing closed at a 4.97% interest rate, according to a company statement released May 7. Soloviev Group said the tower could ultimately reach a stabilized valuation of $3.9B.
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A Turnaround at Nine West
The 50-story, 1.7M SF office tower opened in 1974 after developer Sheldon Solow assembled the site over several decades. Long known simply as “Nine West,” the property became synonymous with exclusivity under Solow, who reportedly tolerated lower occupancy in exchange for maintaining a curated tenant roster.
That strategy shifted after Stefan Soloviev took control of the family business in 2020. According to The Wall Street Journal, Soloviev invested roughly $53M into renovations and amenity upgrades, including a new 20K SF fitness center and high-end art installations featuring works by Picasso, Matisse, and Miró.
The Details
The five-year refinancing pays off an existing $1.2B mortgage that matures later in 2026. About $857M of the prior debt was securitized through the JPMCC 2016-NINE CMBS trust, according to S&P Global.
After covering debt repayment, $40M in closing costs, and $34M in landlord obligations, the transaction returns approximately $526M in cash to Soloviev Group, per S&P Global’s presale report.
The property’s operational performance improved sharply in recent years. S&P Global reported occupancy reached 91.7% by the end of April 2026, up from an average 71% occupancy over the previous 24 years. Net operating income climbed 45% between 2021 and 2025, increasing from $106.1M to $153.4M.
Major tenants include Apollo Global Management, which leases 430K SF and subleases another 32K SF from Sculptor Capital Management. Chanel, Davidson Kempner, and Sculptor are also among the building’s largest occupiers.
A Trophy Office Financing Wave
The refinancing adds to a growing list of large recapitalizations tied to top-tier Manhattan office properties. Despite ongoing stress across commodity office buildings, lenders continue aggressively competing for stabilized Class A and trophy assets in prime locations.
According to prior Bisnow reporting, more than $14B in CMBS debt backed by New York City office properties was issued in 2025, the highest annual volume since 2021. Earlier this year, SL Green and its partners refinanced One Madison Ave. with a $1.7B loan that reportedly generated more than $300M in proceeds. The contrast is becoming more pronounced across CRE sectors, with trophy Manhattan office assets still drawing deep lender demand even as other property types continue repricing amid large portfolio losses and distressed sales.
At the same time, 9 W. 57th St. continues to command some of the city’s highest office rents. In March 2026, Soloviev Group signed what it described as a record New York office lease at $327.50 per SF for the building’s top floor. The tenant was later identified as HBeyond, owned by the family of a Mexican billionaire.
Why It Matters
The deal reinforces the widening divide between trophy office towers and the broader office market. While many older buildings continue battling elevated vacancy and refinancing pressure, elite Manhattan assets with strong tenancy and premium amenities are still attracting large-scale institutional financing.
Leasing momentum at 9 W. 57th St. also highlights how global capital continues gravitating toward highly amenitized Midtown properties. S&P Global said seven leases totaling 58K SF beginning in 2026 and 2027 carried average rents of $205 per SF — far above Midtown’s average asking rent of $84.77 per SF in April 2026, according to CBRE.
What’s Next
The focus now shifts to whether Soloviev can fully stabilize the tower and sustain its premium rent trajectory as new office supply competes for high-end tenants. Continued leasing gains could help justify the property’s projected $3.9B stabilized valuation while setting another benchmark for trophy office financing in Manhattan.
