Manhattan-based mortgage broker Singer & Bassuk has closed a $60.5 million loan for 17 Battery, a 440,000 sq. ft. lower Manhattan office building. President Richard Bassuk says the deal represents another step forward in the revitalization of the lower Manhattan office market. According to Bassuk, there was "substantial interest" in the transaction from several lenders, and after a spirited competition, JP Morgan Chase was selected to finance the transaction.

"This building is located only three blocks away from Ground Zero. But this deal shows that interest has really picked up down here, and the area has improved a lot recently," says Bassuk.

The managing member of 17 Battery, Joseph Moinian, was originally seeking a floating rate loan on the property."But with interest rates so low, we decided to convert to a fixed rate loan. With Bassuk’s advice we chose a 5-year term and gained substantially more flexibility than would have been possible with a traditional 10-year maturity," says Moinian.

Bassuk recently completed the first Liberty Bond deal financed by the New York City Housing Development Corporation for Moinian’s 90 Washington Street project.