The developers of Essex Crossing are close to securing a fresh $250 million in construction financing for the office component of the Lower East Side mixed-use megaproject from Square Mile Capital Management, sources told The Real Deal.
The loan from the investment manager would go toward the $1.5 billion project, which consists of more than 1,000 rental apartments, 400,000 square feet of office space and 450,000 square feet of retail space.
The development team of Taconic Investment Partners, BFC Partners, L+M Development Partners and Goldman Sachs is now beginning the second phase of Essex Crossing — 350,000 square feet of office space. The firms have been targeting roughly $460 million in debt for the two-tower office portion, and Square Mile’s loan would be part of that.
Sources said Square Mile, led by Craig Solomon, has been negotiating to be the lender for the $250 million financing for weeks and would either close the deal in about a week, or not at all.
The office towers at 180 and 202 Broome Street are slated to be built by 2020. Charles Bendit of Taconic told the Wall Street Journal last month that asking rents are projected to range from the high-$80s to the mid-$90s per square foot.
The developers also obtained a $34 million loan from Wells Fargo earlier this month for the construction of a 92-unit affordable housing property for seniors at 140 Essex Street. The entire 1.9 million-square-foot Essex Crossing development should be complete by 2024.
Representatives for Essex Crossing and Square Mile declined to comment.
Square Mile has also recently provided a $205 million construction loan for Lightstone Group’s Times Square office-to-hotel conversion and a $72 million refinancing of six BCB Property Management-owned buildings.