Goldman Sachs invests $83M in Gotham Org’s 1,120-unit LIC project

UPDATED, Nov. 27, 2018, 3:40 p.m.: Goldman Sachs finalized a deal to invest in a massive affordable development in Long Island City — on the same day Amazon announced it would bring half of its HQ2 to the neighborhood.

The investment bank’s Urban Investment Group provided the Gotham Organization with $83 million for its 1,120-unit mixed-use project in Hunter’s Point South, Bloomberg reported.

The city last year chose Gotham Organization and local nonprofit RiseBoro Community Partnership Inc. to develop the property at 57th Avenue and Second Street, which will also include retail. Of the more than 1,000 apartments, 900 are slated to be affordable for households earning between 30 and 145 percent of area median income, and 93 units will be set aside for seniors.

The timing lining up with Amazon’s announcement, one Goldman Sachs executive said, was an “absolute coincidence.”

“I didn’t think New York was in the running,” said Margaret Anadu, head of the Urban Investment Group, “much less Long Island City.”

Instead, the draw was the fact that the project is situated in an Opportunity Zone, like much of the Long Island City waterfront. Since the tax break was pushed through, the Urban Investment Group has invested $150 million of its own money in Opportunity Zones across the country.

“When this massive development is done, it’ll be one of the largest affordable housing communities in New York City’s history,” Anadu said. [Bloomberg] — Kevin Sun

Update: This story has been updated to clarify that Goldman Sachs was not a lender on the project but an investor.