Durst Organization refinances Harlem project with $95M loan

Loan comes from M&T Bank

Douglas Durst and a rendering of 1800 Park Avenue
Douglas Durst and a rendering of 1800 Park Avenue

The Durst Organization is refinancing its Harlem project along Park Avenue courtesy of a $95 million loan from M&T Bank.

The Buffalo-based bank had already loaned Durst $65 million worth of debt for its roughly $91 million purchase of 1800 Park Avenue in 2016. The developer had purchased defaulted debt on the site, and cut a deal with Ian Bruce Eichner’s Continuum Company for the purchase.

The new financing from M&T provides Durst with an additional $30 million in new debt, according to property records.  The money will also go toward the sites at 1801 Park Avenue, 1815 Park Avenue and 110 East 125th Street.

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Durst bought 1801 Park Avenue and 110 East 125th Street in June 2017 for $18.15 million, and the company bought 1815 Park Avenue in December for $17 million. The company had no debt on its purchase of 110 East 125th Street and 1801 Park Avenue, while it financed its purchase of 1815 Park Avenue with about $9 million from a non-bank lender.

M&T led the syndication of the loan with two other lenders, according to bank spokesman Chet Bridger.

Durst Organization spokesman Jordan Barowitz confirmed the financing, and said the company is still planning what to do with the site. Douglas Durst previously told the New York Post that the project will feature a “significant amount of affordable housing.”

The company is also working on a pair of large projects in Queens. Its Hallets Point development will span 2.4 million square feet with 2,400 residential units when completed, and its Clock Tower project in Long Island City will feature a 710-foot tall tower with 958 apartments.