Next door to the legendary Studio 54 theater between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, the 14-story brick loft at 250 West 54th Street spent the past year working its way through CMBS special servicing before hitting the auction block. By stepping in at $38.5 million ($350 a square foot), the buyers reset the building's basis 37.9 percent below its $62 million 2017 price and locked in a 7.2 percent cap rate on existing media and entertainment tenants. When the deed closed on December 22, 2025, Himmel + Meringoff Properties and Square Mile Capital Affiliate had officially taken down 250 West 54th Street from Morningstar / Special Servicer REO Disposition for $38.5 million, with JLL Capital Markets brokering the trade.

Look past the headline figure and the story is all about the basis reset. The 110,000-square-foot building last traded in July 2017 for $62 million. Stepping in at $350 a square foot shaves 37.9 percent off that prior valuation, giving Himmel + Meringoff Properties and Square Mile Capital Affiliate a margin of safety that would have been unthinkable at the top of the cycle. Even better for the buyers, the in-place rent roll hands them a verified 7.20 percent going-in cap rate from day one.

ACORE Capital Writes 65% on a Post-CMBS Basis Reset

The real tell in any Manhattan closing sits on the debt side of the ledger. To fund the purchase, Himmel + Meringoff Properties and Square Mile Capital Affiliate locked in a $25.02 million senior bridge acquisition loan from ACORE Capital at 65 percent loan-to-value.

That loan commitment meant the buyers only needed to write a $13.47 million equity check to control a 14-story, 1924-vintage Midtown West / Broadway Corridor asset. Credit committees aren't stretching to 75 percent leverage anymore, but when a sponsor brings $13.47 million of real cash equity and a basis of $350 a square foot, lenders like ACORE Capital are wide open for business.

From Our Desk

When we look at 250 West 54th Street on our placement desk at Light Tower Group, the lesson for New York sponsors comes down to the marriage of entry basis and lender selection. Himmel + Meringoff Properties and Square Mile Capital Affiliate didn't try to fight the tape—they bought Midtown West / Broadway Corridor footage at $350 a square foot and paired it with the exact lender bucket built for this business plan. Once a CMBS special servicer takes the 38 percent loss and wipes the old $62 million basis off the books, debt funds like ACORE will happily lend 65 percent on the new $350-a-foot reality.