Assignment
Trimont was engaged by a major global investment bank to provide asset management and servicing on a $192 million mezzanine loan.
Asset
The Seagram Building is a 38-story skyscraper located at 375 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The structure,designed by German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe,was built in the International style which had enormous influences on American architecture. The style argues that the functional utility of a building’s structural elements should be made visible rather than relying on a formal decorative articulation, thereby providing a “real conversation” to the people looking upon it. The building was completed in 1958 and at the time of its completion, was the world’s most expensive skyscraper due to the use of high-quality materials and lavish interior decoration. The Seagram building was originally owned by the Bronfman family, which founded the Seagram distilling empire.
Insights
- An interesting feature of the Seagram Building is the window blinds which only operate in three positions – fully open, hallway open/closed, or fully closed. The architect wanted the building to have a uniform appearance and to reduce the disordered irregularity of most buildings.
- The Four Seasons Grill, a restaurant located in the Seagram Building, inspired the phrase “Power Lunch.” Within the restaurant, between the Grill and the Pool Room, hangs a massive Pablo Picasso curtain titled “Le Tricorne” which was created for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in 1919.