Trending
Jamestown looks to refi Tribeca apartment building to the tune of $145M
Original developer built project with tax-exempt financing through 9/11 redevelopment program
Jamestown Properties is working to secure $145 million to refinance a Tribeca apartment building developed with tax-exempt funds as a way to revitalize Lower Manhattan in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.
In exchange for the bond-backed funding, the Midtown-based landlord is agreeing to extend the affordable-housing component at 88 Leonard Street for another eight years, an application with the state department of Homes and Community Renewal shows. A representative for the company did not respond to requests for comment.
Jamestown [TRDataCustom], which owns the Chelsea Market and has a stake in Industry City, bought the 21-story, 352-unit building at the corner of Leonard Street and Broadway in September for $242 million from a subsidiary of Chicago-based Waterton Associates.
The original developer, a partnership between real estate investment firm Africa Israel USA and Shaya Boymelgreen, had constructed the building with financing through the Liberty Bond Program, which provided tax-exempt funds to construct commercial or residential space below Canal Street as part of the recovery effort following 9/11.
In exchange, the developer set aside 18 units, five percent of the project, as affordable housing. The building also gets a 20-year reduction in real estate taxes equal to the 421a program under an agreement with the Battery Park City Authority.
Jamestown is looking to refinance the $132 million in debt on the property with $145 million in proceeds from a bond sale to Capital One Municipal Funding. The bonds will mature Nov. 1, 2037, according to documents. Jamestown wants to use the additional debt to pull a portion of equity out of the building and make renovations, such as converting a portion of the basement into amenity space and creating a small retail portion on the ground floor.
The building is 94 percent occupied. The state’s Housing Finance Agency is scheduled to hear the application at its June 15 meeting.
(To view more of Jamestown Properties’ financing transactions, click here)