June’s biggest outer-borough loans led by $386M for Greenpoint

After rising in May, dollar volume for the 10 largest outer-borough loans of the month declined, making June’s total the lowest this year.

The 10 largest loans were worth $656 million in June, 21 percent below May’s total of $828 million and five percent below April’s $689 million.

Only one deal in the four boroughs outside Manhattan broke the $100 million mark: Clipper Equity landed a hefty construction loan for a three-tower apartment complex in Greenpoint. David Bistricer’s firm had also secured the largest outer-borough loan in May.

Queens dominated June’s ranking, accounting for six deals, while Brooklyn and the Bronx each had two loans in the top 10.

The full list:

1) Clipper construction | $286 million (recorded)
Bank of China provided Clipper Equity with $286 million in financing for the developer’s massive rental project at 77 Commercial Street, while SL Green reportedly lent another $100 million which has yet to appear in property records, and an undisclosed lender provided a $25 million mezzanine piece. The three-tower rental complex will include some 720 units. The new financing takes out a $70 million acquisition loan SL Green provided in 2012.

2) Opportunity cost | $89 million
Shorewood Real Estate Group scored an $89 million construction loan from East West Bank for its first Opportunity Zone project, a 320,000-square-foot, mixed-use development at 160-05 Archer Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The developer had acquired two vacant lots for the development in 2018 for about $19 million at an auction. The 23-story building will have ground-floor retail and 315 apartments, of which 30 percent will be affordable.

3) Goldman’s back | $57 million
Goldman Sachs’ real estate arm secured a $57 million loan from USAA Real Estate for its $100 million acquisition of the 183-unit rental portion of 1 Flatbush Avenue, the investment bank’s first New York real estate buy since the financial crisis. Slate Property Group and Meadow Partners finished construction on the 19-story building in 2018. The developers had originally put the entire property — including 25,000 square feet of retail — on the market with an asking price of $150 million.

4) Safe and safer | $41 million
iStar-managed Safehold, a ground-lease REIT, refinanced the ground under the landmarked BankNote Building in the Bronx with a $41 million from a Safehold affiliate, replacing $41 million in debt held by Bank of America. Safehold paid $64.6 million for the fee interest in the property at 890 Garrison Avenue in Hunts Point last August, the first of many big-ticket deals the REIT closed in New York in 2020.

5) Chetrit credit | $40 million
The Chetrit Group refinanced an eight-acre development site at 57-46 56th Street in Maspeth with $40 million from Maxim Credit Group, replacing a $20 million loan SL Green had provided in 2016. That year, Chetrit was reported to be considering a mixed-use project on the site, although the rezoning process was expected to be challenging given the site’s location in an Industrial Business Zone.

6) Being charitable | $36 million
Bank of America provided a $36 million construction loan to Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development for a senior housing project at 23-11 31st Road in Astoria. Catholic Charities filed plans in 2017 for a 103-unit affordable senior housing building on the Queens site.

7) Renovated rehab | $32 million
Townhouse Property Group refinanced a drug rehabilitation center at 159-05 Union Turnpike in Flushing with a $31.5 million loan from Dime Community Bank. The new debt replaced a $24 million loan New York Community Bank provided in 2014. The recently renovated five-story property, part of the Cornerstone treatment facilities network, has 176 beds.

8) Mixed-use medical | $29 million
Bank OZK provided $29 million in construction financing to Piermont Properties for a mixed-use development at 188-11 Hillside Avenue in Jamaica Estates, Queens. The seven-story, 120,905-square-foot building will include 19,655 square feet of medical office space and 101 luxury residential units.

9) Innovo industrial | $24 million
Andrew Chung’s Innovo Property Group secured a $24 million loan from Granite Point Mortgage Trust for its $34 million acquisition of a warehouse at 28-90 Review Avenue in Long Island City. Florida-based JBL Asset Management was the seller. Innovo, which has acquired several industrial properties in recent years, was first reported to be interested in the property in 2018.

10) Tasher take-out | $22 million
Popular Bank provided a $22 million loan for the recently completed mixed-used development at 1144 Evergreen Avenue in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Kim Tasher’s SKF Development filed plans for the project in 2016. The five-story, 67,502-square-foot project includes 73 apartments and medical offices on the first floor.