DBRS Finalizes Ratings for COMM 2012-9W57

DBRS has today finalized the provisional ratings of the following classes of COMM 2012-9W57. The trends are Stable.

-- Class A at AAA (sf)
-- Class X at AAA (sf)

The collateral consists of a $625 million fixed-rate loan secured by 9 West 57th Street, a 1.67 million sf, 50-story Class A office tower built in 1972. It is considered one of the premier office towers in Manhattan because of its location directly south of Central Park, which provides unobstructed views of the Park starting at the 27th floor. Tenancy at the property is considered strong, including a list of elite hedge funds, investment managers, financial institutions and luxury retailers. With a 2.85x DBRS Term DSCR, there is minimal term default risk, especially considering the DSCR figure is based on depressed current performance with no credit given to future leasing.

The subject is currently 56.2% occupied as of the January 30, 2012, rent roll by 23 office tenants and one retail tenant. The ocupancy is very low, in part because Bank of America vacated approximately 40% of the NRA in 2008. While DBRS expects occupancy of the asset to improve over the term of the loan, in the event that this does not materialize as a result of market conditions or borrower strategy, the recent and historical sales activity of comparable and even inferior properties in Midtown Manhattan is in excess of the loan’s leverage of $374 psf.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

All classes are privately placed pursuant to Rule 144a. The Class X balance is notional.

The applicable methodology is CMBS Rating Methodology and Rating North American Commercial Real Estate Non-Performing Loan Liquidating Trust Methodology which can be found on our website under Methodologies.