Casco Development secures $50M loan for High Line condo project

Uri Chaitchik’s Casco Development secured a $50 million loan for a planned condominium building near the High Line, according to documents filed with the city today.

The property, at 540-548 West 21st Street, will be the future site of a 20-story, 172,000-square-foot mixed-use building. Permits for the site, which were filed in December, call for 128,000 square feet of residential space divided between 38 units. The structure will also have retail space on the ground floor. Casco plans to include amenities such as swimming pools and an art gallery that occupies multiple floors.

The lender for the new loan is Bank Hapoalim, one of Israel’s largest financial institutions. The mortgage replaces a $30 million loan on the property from October, also from Bank Hapoalim. The loan package also includes a $20 million gap mortgage.

Casco bought the site for $50 million in 2014. It was previously owned by The Atlantic Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Johnson & Johnson heir John Johnson. The condo building will replace a one-story property that was used as a location for Eyebeam, a nonprofit gallery and studio space.

Chaitchik’s real estate holdings also include a warehouse at 550 West 21st Street, which he bought for $40 million in 2015. Casco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.