1 QPS Tower, 365 Bond Street and Queens Park Plaza
Long Island City was home to the largest outer borough loan last month for the third time in a row.
The Durst Organization landed a $360 million loan for its Queens Plaza Park project at 29-37 41st Avenue to grab the top spot for December. First place in November went to a $275 million loan for Tishman Speyer’s 28-10 Queens Plaza South, and in October, it went to a $201 million loan for Simon Baron Development’s 29-22 Northern Boulevard.
Queens had two loans on the list overall, while Brooklyn had seven, the Bronx had one and Staten Island had none. The loans were worth about $1.2 billion overall.
Major deals apart from Queens Plaza Park included $179.8 million from MetLife for the Carlyle Group’s 1 QPS Tower and $127.95 million from a trio of banks for Brookfield Asset Management’s 1 Pierrepont Plaza.
The full list of the top 10 outer borough loans for December is as follows:
1. Durst in First – $360 million
The Durst Organization received the largest outer borough last month for Queens Plaza Park, a project that is expected to be one of the tallest towers in Queens. M&T Bank provided the company with $360 million in financing for the project across three loans: a $50 million project loan, a $90 million acquisition loan and a $220 million building loan. The 710-foot tower will be at 29-37 41st Avenue in Long Island City and span 978,000 square feet with 958 residential units.
2. MetLife Meets Acquisition Need – $180 million
MetLife provided a fund managed by the Carlyle Group with a $179.8 million loan for its $284 million purchase of 1 QPS Tower, the priciest acquisition of a rental building in the history of the borough. The loan comes with a $29.8 million gap mortgage and retires a prior debt package from Deutsche Bank. The 45-story tower at 42-20 24th Street in Long Island City includes 391 market-rate apartments and includes a gym and rooftop pool.
3. Three Banks and a Brookfield – $128 million
The third place loan for December came from three banks for Brookfield Asset Management’s 1 Pierrepont Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn. Barclays, Citibank and Bank of America combined to loan Brookfield $127.95 million to refinance its leasehold on the office tower, which Brookfield took over as part of its acquisition of Forest City Realty Trust. The building stands 19 stories tall and spans 744,000 square feet.
4. On the Hunt – $121 million
Hunt Real Estate Capital and Fannie Mae loaned RDC Development about $121 million to make repairs to NYCHA’s Betances Houses complex in the South Bronx. RDC, made up of the Long Island developer MDG Design and Construction and the Queens property management firm Wavecrest Management, is managing the NYCHA development through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program, and the firm is partnering on this project with Catholic Charities.
5. Bond. 365 Bond. – $113 million
Goldman Sachs loaned the Lightstone Group $113 million for its Gowanus project at 365 Bond Street. The rental building, which was completed in 2016, stands 12 stories tall with 430 units. Amenities include a park along the waterfront and a private garden courtyard. The total reported amount was $210 million, but city records only recorded one $113 million mortgage.
6. Bright Lights, Big Citibank – $75 million
Citibank loaned David Bistricer’s Clipper Realty $75 million for its mixed-use property at 250 Livingston Street in Brooklyn. The money takes out an unpaid balance of $33.6 million on a CMBS loan and adds $41.4 million in proceeds to form one $75 million lien, according to Commercial Observer. The property contains offices for several city agencies, including the Department of Environmental Protection and the Human Resources Administration.
7. Private Equity Lending Emergency – $67.5 million
TPG Real Estate Finance Trust lent Iris Holdings $67.5 million for their purchase of a Borough Park portfolio. Iris bought the buildings for about $68 million from Maimonides Medical Center. They are addressed at 864 49th Street, 983 and 1005 46th Street, 5001 10th Avenue, 1016 50th Street and 902, 914 and 926 47th Street. The properties are mainly vacant buildings and include 295 apartments across 263,000 square feet.
8. Pascal’s Broadway Triangle – $65 million
Spencer Equity and Rabsky Group received a $65 million loan for their controversial Broadway Triangle project from Centennial Bank. The money will repay an existing $20 million loan on the property from Signature Bank and include $10 million to repay Spencer Equity’s Joel Gluck part of the money he fronted Simon Dushinsky. The eight-building project in South Williamsburg had been bogged down in a discrimination lawsuit, but a judge dismissed the suit late last year.
9. Guess Who’s Rybak – $47.5 million
Rybak Development received a $47.5 million construction loan from Bank Leumi for the firm’s Coney Island project at 271 Sea Breeze Avenue. The 22-story building will span 180,000 square feet and include 114 apartments and slightly more than 27,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.
10. Too Many Cook Streets – $36 million
Valley National Bank loaned Joel Braver $36 million for his property at 46 Cook Street in Williamsburg. Braver is planning to build a residential project on the site.