Sugar Hill co-founder raises $50M for new fund

Fort Amsterdam Capital, a Manhattan-based lender founded by Sugar Hill Capital Partners’ David Schwartz, has raised a $50 million for its second fund.

Between direct investment and co-lender arrangements, Fund II has $100 million to deploy over the next 12 months, Schwartz told Commercial Observer. Schwartz, who founded Sugar Hill with Alex Friedman in 2009, launched Fort Amsterdam last year with a $22 million first fund.

Fort Amsterdam’s bridge lending platform focuses on loans between $2 million and $10 million, with a loan-to-value ratio of 75 percent.

Schwartz said the fund would consider larger deals on a case-by-case basis, and he foresees refinancing deals as traditional lenders pull back. “There are a lot of good landlords who made very aggressive assumptions. Now that their loans are due they’re trying to find alternatives,” he said.

Schwartz said Fort Amsterdam’s first lending vehicle was a proof-of-concept fund. The second fund will focus on multifamily, mixed-use and small office deals though it will consider retail plays in busy corridors in parts of Brooklyn and Harlem.

FAC’s Uanderson Benedetti will lead origination efforts. [CO] — E.B. Solomont