Press Release Details

SL Green Realty Corp. Takes Ownership of 100 Church Street

Jan 21, 2010 at 12:00 AM EST
SL Green Realty Corp. Takes Ownership of 100 Church Street

New York City, January 21, 2010 - SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) announced today that it is the sole owner of 100 Church Street, NY, NY, a 1.05 million-square-foot office tower located in downtown Manhattan, following the successful foreclosure of the senior mezzanine loan at the property.

SL Green's initial investment was comprised of a 50% interest in the senior mezzanine loan and two other mezzanine loans at 100 Church Street, which it acquired from Gramercy Capital Corp. (NYSE: GKK) in the summer of 2007. As part of a consensual arrangement reached with the then-current owners in August 2009, SL Green, on behalf of the mezzanine lender, obtained management and leasing control of the property.  

At closing of the foreclosure, the Company funded additional capital into the project as part of its agreement with Wachovia Bank, N.A. to extend and restructure the existing financing for a new four year term. Gramercy declined to fund its share of this capital and instead entered into a transaction whereby it transferred its interests in the investment to SL Green at closing, subject to certain future contingent payments.

A Newmark Knight Frank team led by James Kuhn and Brian Waterman has already initiated an aggressive leasing program for the building and will continue to work with SL Green's staff to increase occupancy at the currently 58% vacant building.  SL Green also intends to commence an extensive lobby renovation and other property improvements.  The property will be operated by SL Green's in-house management team.  

Andrew Mathias, President and Chief Investment Office of SL Green, commented, "We're pleased that we can take ownership of an office property with such great potential.  The building is well-situated in one of Downtown's/Tribeca's best locations and offers a substantial block of available space with large floorplates.   SL Green has a long track record of successfully leasing up previously-underperforming properties and we view this as a great opportunity to once again demonstrate the success of our targeted leasing and repositioning capabilities."

Company Profile
SL Green Realty Corp. is a self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, or REIT, that predominantly acquires, owns, repositions and manages Manhattan office properties. The Company is the only publicly held REIT that specializes in this niche. As of September 30, 2009, the Company owned interests in 29 New York City office properties totaling approximately 23,211,200 square feet, making it New York's largest office landlord. In addition, at September 30, 2009, SL Green held investment interests in, among other things, eight retail properties encompassing approximately 374,812 square feet, three development properties encompassing approximately 399,800 square feet and two land interests, along with ownership interests in 31 suburban assets totaling 6,804,700 square feet in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut and New Jersey.

Forward-looking Statement
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions thereof.  All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including such matters as future capital expenditures, dividends and acquisitions (including the amount and nature thereof), development trends of the real estate industry and the Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County, Connecticut, and New Jersey office markets, business strategies, expansion and growth of our operations and other similar matters, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by us in light of our experience and our perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may materially differ, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on such statements.  Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words "may," "will," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," "project," "continue," or the negative of these words, or other similar words or terms.  

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made by us.  These risks and uncertainties include the effect of the credit crisis on general economic, business and financial conditions, and on the New York Metro real estate market in particular; dependence upon certain geographic markets; risks of real estate acquisitions, dispositions and developments, including the cost of construction delays and cost overruns; risks relating to structured finance investments; availability and creditworthiness of prospective tenants and borrowers; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; adverse changes in the real estate markets, including reduced demand for office space, increasing vacancy, and increasing availability of sublease space; availability of capital (debt and equity); unanticipated increases in financing and other costs, including a rise in interest rates; our ability to comply with financial covenants in our debt instruments; our ability to maintain our status as a REIT; risks of investing through joint venture structures, including the fulfillment by our partners of their financial obligations; the continuing threat of terrorist attacks, in particular in the New York Metro area and on our tenants; our ability to obtain adequate insurance coverage at a reasonable cost and the potential for losses in excess of our insurance coverage, including as a result of environmental contamination; changes in accounting principles and policies and guidelines applicable to REITs; and legislative, regulatory and/or safety requirements adversely affecting REITs and the real estate business, including costs of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Housing Act and other similar laws and regulations.

Other factors and risks to our business, many of which are beyond our control, are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.

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