Trinity Place Holdings Inc. (the “Company”) (OTC: TPHS) announced today
that it has filed a motion seeking bankruptcy court approval of a $40
million loan facility secured by its properties located at 42 Trinity
Place and 67 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan. The loan will be
provided by Sterling National Bank and Israel Discount Bank of New York
and will close and be funded following court approval. Trinity is the
successor to Syms Corp. and Filene’s Basement which emerged from Chapter
11 bankruptcy in September 2012 with a significant portfolio of real
estate and other legacy assets.
Proceeds from the loan will be used by the Company to pay or reserve for
all remaining claims and to make strategic investments in its remaining
assets and potential new opportunities. Once the claims are paid or
reserved for to the satisfaction of the court, the Company will have
substantially fulfilled its obligations under the plan for
reorganization.
Proceeds from the loan will also be used for further predevelopment work
on Trinity’s Lower Manhattan holdings at 42 Trinity Place and 67
Greenwich Street. The Company has made significant progress on this
project to date, including defining the program and developing a
conceptual design for a mixed-use building of over 280,000 gross square
feet as well as reaching preliminary terms with prospective users for
the commercial base of the building. Significant interest in the
development of the property has led the Company to hire Eastdil Secured
to proceed with a formal and organized process to help evaluate the most
appropriate risk-adjusted path to value maximization for shareholders
which may or may not result in a possible sale of the property in whole
or in part with a joint venture partner.
“Sterling National Bank is excited to participate in the growth of
Trinity Place Holdings with the current loan facility. Their developing
business plan is exciting and their success to date is impressive. We
look forward to a long term relationship with the Company,” stated Jim
Peoples, President of Sterling Banking Group.
“This new loan facility provided by Sterling National Bank and Israel
Discount Bank of New York bolsters Trinity Place Holdings’ growth plans
as a new business. We will fulfill the obligations under the plan as
promised and take key steps forward to create additional value for our
stakeholders,” stated Matthew Messinger, President & CEO of Trinity
Place Holdings. “The loan also supports our predevelopment work in
Paramus, NJ, Westbury, NY and West Palm Beach, Florida and in particular
at our 42 Trinity Place and 67 Greenwich Street properties in the
exceptionally strong market of Lower Manhattan.”
The facility also provides for up to an additional $10 million of
proceeds to be made available subject to certain conditions and
approvals.
The motion filed with the court to approve the loan facility also seeks
approval of other matters including a charter amendment to protect the
Company’s net operating losses (“NOL’s”) as an asset of the Company.
Further details on the loan and the motion will be included in a Form
8-K filed with the SEC later today.
About Trinity Place Holdings, Inc.
Trinity Place Holdings currently has significant real estate in three
states, a variety of consumer-sector intellectual property rights and
significant net operating losses. Trinity’s assets include real estate
in the Westbury, New York, Paramus, New Jersey, and West Palm Beach,
Florida markets, as well as “Trinity Place,” one of Lower Manhattan’s
premier development sites. Trinity intellectual property includes rights
related to the Filene's Basement trademarks. The company is currently
traded OTC under the symbol TPHS. Its current assets are the legacy of
certain Syms Corp. and Filene’s Basement holdings as a result of those
companies having emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy under a plan of
reorganization in September 2012. More information on the Company can be
found at www.trinityplaceholdings.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release includes “forward-looking statements” which can be
identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or
current facts. These statements contain words such as “may,” “will,”
“expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “intended,” “would,” “estimate,”
“continue,” “bode well,” “future,” or the negative or other variations
thereof or comparable terminology. In particular, they include
statements relating to, among other things, future actions, new
projects, strategies, future performance, the outcomes of contingencies,
and future financial results of the Company. These forward-looking
statements are based on current expectations and projections about
future events. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements
are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks
and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, and,
consequently, the actual performance of the Company may differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, court approval of the motion or items contained therein,
expectations with respect to the monetization of the Trinity Place
property and the Company’s other real estate, tax and intellectual
property assets and the other factors described from time to time in the
Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any
forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date
made. The Company disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking
statements.
Copyright Business Wire 2014