Lower East Side affordable complex lands $162M construction loan

Gotham Organization’s complex will have rentals, cultural centers

Gotham Organization CEO David Picket and a rendering of the Broome Street Development complex (Gotham; Community at Broome)
Gotham Organization CEO David Picket and a rendering of the Broome Street Development complex (Gotham; Community at Broome)

UPDATED, Dec. 28 2020, 3:20 p.m.: A mixed-use building in the works on the Lower East Side landed a $162.4 million construction loan from Wells Fargo and US Bank.

The loan is for 55 Suffolk Street, which is part of the two-building Broome Street Development complex (which also includes 64 Norfolk Street), spearheaded by a joint venture between the Gotham Organization and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, Commercial Observer reported.

In total, 400,000-square-foot project — which was one of the biggest new real estate projects filed this year — will feature about 500 rental apartments, including 209 affordable units and 115 units set aside for seniors. The Chinese American Planning Council, a nonprofit providing educational, social, and community services for Asian Americans, will also have its headquarters within the complex, occupying 40,000 square feet at 55 Suffolk Street.

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The project has been in the works for several years, following a fire that gutted the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue, which previously stood on the site. A new synagogue with a cultural heritage center will occupy part of the Norfolk Street building.

In addition to the construction debt, the Suffolk Street building, which is the project’s first phase, secured a $70 million equity commitment. The second phase of the project at 64 Norfolk Street has secured $3 million in the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit on the second phase of development, sources told Commercial Observer. [CO] — Akiko Matsuda

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated the $162 million loan was for the entire complex. It is just for the building at 55 Suffolk Street.