The 10 largest Manhattan loans recorded in February totaled $700 million, a 63 percent decline from January’s total.
Seasonality may have been a factor in the drop in activity, as February was also a slow month for real estate lending in 2019 and 2020. This February wasn’t the slowest month since the start of the pandemic, however — that was August, when the top 10 Manhattan real estate loans totaled just $428 million.
As was the case in August, lending volume in the outer boroughs was actually greater than in Manhattan last month. Only two loans worth more than $100 million were recorded in the borough in February: a pair of acquisition loans for properties in Lower Manhattan.
Here were the borough’s largest real estate loans in February:
1) Cherry on top | $280 million
Related Fund Management secured this loan from Grandbridge Real Estate Capital for 265-275 Cherry Street, a pair of Section 8 buildings on the Lower East Side that the company acquired from CIM Group and L+M Development Partners for $435 million — Manhattan’s largest multifamily deal since the pandemic.
2) Atlas didn’t shrug | $109 million
Arbor Realty Trust provided this loan to Atlas Capital Group for the acquisition of 15 Park Row, a half-empty apartment building near City Hall. The sellers were Joe and Rachelle Friedman, former owners of J&R Music World, which had used the ground level and was based next door. The 31-story property, with retail space and 330 rental units, sold for about $140 million.
3) Carthago debenda est | $79 million
Carthage Real Estate Advisors landed this construction loan from Bank Leumi for 234 and 224 West 124th Street in Central Harlem. The developer filed plans in 2018 for a 12-story, 108-unit residential project on the site, with a mix of condos and rentals. Carthage acquired the site for $28 million in 2017 following an extended legal dispute with the previous owner.
4) Union credit | $43 million
The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America secured this financing for the acquisition and rehabilitation of two commercial condominium units at 40 Rector Street in Lower Manhattan. The debt comes in the form of tax-exempt bonds issued by Build NYC Resource Corporation, with Bank of New York Mellon acting as trustee.
5) (tie) River refi | $40 million
New York Community Bank refinanced East River Housing Corporation’s 1,672-unit East River Co-op on the Lower East Side, increasing the debt on the property by 70 percent, from $23.5 million. The property includes four apartment buildings and a commercial building at FDR Drive and Grand Street.
5) (tie) Container collateral | $40 million
An LLC managed by Channa Taubman refinanced the commercial building at 625 Sixth Avenue in Chelsea with this loan from Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. The five-story building, once the site of a historic Siegel-Cooper department store, is now home to a Container Store. The Taubman family has owned the property since the late 1980s.
7) Mitchell-Lama money | $36.5 million
Wells Fargo provided this refinancing to Village View Housing Corporation for its 1,236-unit Mitchell-Lama cooperative. In 2016, residents at the seven-building complex discussed withdrawing it from the affordable housing program, but paused those discussions soon after.
8) Mequity mortgage | $35 million
A joint venture between self storage developer Mequity Companies and Ramrock Real Estate landed a $35.1 million construction loan from Cerberus Capital Management for a project at 41-47 East 21st Street. The partners, who acquired the site in 2019, plan to convert the four-story parking facility to a self-storage facility operated by CubeSmart.
9) Urban & Meyer | $20 million
Urban Standard Capital provided this loan to Meyer Equities to finance a partner buyout at 265 West 37th Street, a 23-story building in Midtown. Meyer has owned the property for three decades and will use part of the loan proceeds for tenant improvements and leasing costs.
10) Franco funding | $17 million
Joseph Franco refinanced eight multifamily properties on the Upper West Side and in West Harlem with a loan from Apple Bank For Savings. The properties, which span from 302 Columbus Avenue north to 423 West 125th Street, have a total of 143 residential units.