The top 10 outer borough loans for March were almost entirely about Brooklyn.
The borough nabbed eight of the top 10 spots and all of the top four, with the sole exceptions belonging to one Bronx loan in Throggs Neck at No. 5 and one Queens loan in Long Island City at No. 10, closing out the list.
The largest loan of the month was for about $198.3 million from CGA Capital to Muss Development and HomeFed Corporation for a portion of Downtown Brooklyn’s Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza, followed closely by a roughly $187.7 million loan to All Year Management for its development on the former Rheingold Brewery site.
The full list of top loans for March is as follows:
1. Renaissance Man — $198.3 million
The top loan of March was for about $198.3 million from CGA Capital to Muss Development and HomeFed Corporation for their lease on the office portion of Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza at 350 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Wilmington Trust serves as a trustee on the new mortgage, which replaces a Bank of New York Mellon loan from 1996 for $80.8 million. Tenants in the complex’s 820,000 square feet of office space include the city’s Department of Education and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
2. Among the Evergreens — $187.7 million
The second spot went to Evergreen Gardens at 54 Noll Street in Bushwick, where bondholders on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange lent about $187.7 million to All Year Management. Documents filed on the stock exchange in January showed that All Year planned to offer up to $200 million in bonds secured by a mortgage on Evergreen Gardens, the first phase of its rental complex at the former Rheingold Brewery site. It will consist of 443 apartments and retail, and it was appraised at $269 million in December.
3. Sugar Hill Gang — $97 million
Mack Real Estate loaned Sugar Hill Capital Partners just over $97 million for its project at 1 Prospect Park West. The funding replaced a Loancore loan. The mixed-use property stands nine stories tall and spans 169,000 square feet, and Sugar Hill plans to convert it into a luxury apartment building, according to the Commercial Observer.
4. Whale of a Loan — $90 million
Madison Realty Capital refinanced their Whale Square building at 14 53rd Street in Sunset Park with $90 million from TPG Capital. TPG refinanced the remaining $59.4 million balance of a $63.2 million Deutsche Bank loan on the 500,000-square-foot building, and it also provided $30.5 million in additional debt. Madison purchased the building in 2015 for $82.5 million.
5. Shop ‘til You Drop — $68.5 million
The first non-Brooklyn appearance on the list went to the Bronx, thanks to Natixis’ $68.5 million loan to Simone Development for the Throggs Neck Shopping Center at 815 Hutchinson River Parkway. The CMBS loan is for 10 years and closed at a 5.17 percent rate, and it features interest-only payments, according to the Commercial Observer.
6. The Land of Lincoln — $51.2 million
Loancore Capital lent Lincoln Property Company and Alcion Ventures about $51.2 million for 1300 Flushing Avenue in Bushwick, a loan that replaced one from Mack Real Estate. The companies plan to convert the six-story warehouse and distribution building into a creative office space building called The Jefferson, according to Real Estate Weekly.
7. An Apple a Day — $49.5 million
John Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Group landed a $49.5 million loan from M&T Bank for its project in Prospect Heights at 670 Pacific Street. The financing replaces the $25.3 million mortgage KeyBank provided on the site in 2014. Catsimatidis purchased the project in February from Robert Wolf’s Read Property Group for $69.2 million through a 1031 exchange.
8. In the (Crown) Heights — $44.7 million
GRJ Real Estate received a $44.7 million loan from Valley National Bank for its Crown Heights buildings at 921 and 941 Washington Avenue. The firm bought the two six-story buildings from Sentinel Real Estate in February for $53.3 million.
9. Hut, Hut, Heitman! — $36.9 million
Heitman Capital Management lent Meadow Partners $36.9 million for its Williamsburg building at 100 South 4th Street, which it purchased for $52 million in 2014. This brought a five-year bankruptcy process at the building to a close.
10. To the Lightstone Group — $35 million
A $35 million loan from Western Alliance Bank to Lightstone Group for its purchase of the Hilton Garden Inn at 29-21 41st Avenue in Long Island City rounded out the list. Lightstone purchased the hotel for $60 million from an investment group led by Sagamore Capital and Ranger Properties, a price that worked out to roughly $330,000 per key.