Californians Back New York Tower

California Federal Savings & Loan Assn., Los Angeles, is heading a consortium of five California-based financial institutions supplying $300 million in permanent financing for a 47-story office tower under construction in lower Manhattan.

In addition to the $150-million commitment from Cal Fed, the loan--one of the largest mortgages ever placed on a single building--will be funded by Home Savings of America, Glendale Federal Savings & Loan Assn., Gilbraltar Savings and Coast Savings & Loan Assn., according to Jack E. Sonnenblick of Sonnenblick-Goldman Corp., which arranged the financing.

The 1.8-million-square-foot speculative office building, 7 World Trade Center, is being built by Silverstein Properties Inc. on a site bounded by West Broadway, Vesey, Washington and Barclay streets near the existing World Trade Center complex, Sonnenblick said. The architect is Emery Roth & Sons, New York.

In addition to arranging the permanent financing, Sonnenblick, chairman of Sonnenblick-Goldman, also assembled a seven-bank construction financing consortium for the building, headed by Chase Manhattan Bank, and including Bank of America, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Bank of Montreal, Mellon Bank, Citibank and Norwest Bank Minneapolis.

Based in New York, with offices in Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, Miami and Moorestown, N.J., Sonnenblick-Goldman Corp. is reportedly the largest volume mortgage banking concern specializing in the sale and financing of income-producing properties.