Outer boroughs rival Manhattan for big real estate loans

Residential projects continued to command the attention of lenders in August, as the city’s 10 largest outer-borough real estate loans totaled $1.5 billion. Manhattan’s biggest loans fetched about the same amount last month.

The 10 Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx loans outpaced the total from last month as well as from last with a healthy mix of projects from residential towers to warehouses. A spec office project even got some sugar. Here are the details.

Going up | $348 million

Andrew Chung’s Innovo Property Group scored $348 million from JPMorgan to refinance its vertical warehouse project at 23-30 Borden Avenue in Long Island City. Total financing on the deal came to $435 million, with Starwood Property Trust in the mezzanine position. Innovo plans to build a 842,000-square-foot, five-story facility across the East River from Midtown. Innovo partnered with Atalaya Capital Management and Hong Kong-based Nan Fung Group to buy the property in 2019 for $75 million.

Tower power | $232 million

Rockefeller Group and Park Tower Group secured $232 million from Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank to build a 40-story residential tower at 16 Dupont Street in Greenpoint. The building, part of the Greenpoint Landing development, will have 378 apartments and 2,700 square feet of retail.

Retail refi | $198 million

Retail REIT Acadia Realty Trust received $198 million from Bank of America, including $66 million in new debt, secured by 570,000 square feet of retail space at Downtown Brooklyn’s City Point development. The retail units are located at 1 Dekalb Avenue, 445 Gold Street and 138 WIlloughby Street.

Cash me out | $147 million

Self-storage firm Prime Group Holdings secured $147 million from Slate Asset Management to refinance self-storage facilities in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. The debt includes $4.6 million in newly originated funds and replaces Pimco as the lender. The facilities are located at 1084 Rockaway Avenue, 31-07 20th Avenue and 1260 Zerega Avenue, respectively.

Groundlease green | $135 million

JEMB Realty received $135 million from Wells Fargo to build a 375-unit residential building spanning 395,000 square feet at 11 Ocean Parkway and 312 Coney Island Avenue in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. The loan is secured by the leasehold; International Baptist Church Inc. owns the 46,500 square feet of land beneath the anticipated building. The City Council approved an upzoning of the site in 2020.

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DoBro dealings | $134 million

Lonicera Partners landed $134 million in construction financing from City National Bank and Santander for a residential tower in Downtown Brooklyn. The 314-unit project at 15 Hanover Place will stand 34 stories and was among the last projects approved under the 421a tax program which expired in June. Some 95 units will be set aside as affordable.

Warehousing windfall | $106 million

CBRE Investment Management received $106 million from Bank of America, including $61 million in new debt, secured by the Brooklyn Logistics Center in East New York. The funds replace $45 million that JPMorgan Chase originated when the CBRE affiliate bought the warehouses from Wildflower in April for $230 million. The warehouses are operated by Amazon and span 211,000 square feet.

Moving to Mott Haven | $91 million

Jacob Schwimmer’s JCS Realty secured $90.5 million in construction loans from Valley National Bank to build a 365-unit residential project at 40 Bruckner Boulevard in Mott Haven, the Bronx. Schwinner nailed down $105 million from Montgomery Street Capital earlier this year to build a 447-unit building at nearby 138 Bruckner Boulevard.

Spec Sugar | $80 million

Two Trees Management landed $80 million from M&T Bank for its redevelopment of the former Domino Sugar refinery at 292 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The spec project will yield 460,000 square feet of office space, which the developer hopes will fetch rents of $60 to $90 per square foot, Curbed reported. Companies that relocate to Brooklyn from below 96th Street in Manhattan, or from outside the city, will be eligible for a property tax offset of $3,000 per employee thanks to the city’s Relocation Employment Assistance Program.

Rental refi | $72 million

Zara Realty refinanced a residential portfolio with 358 apartments in Hollis, Queens, with $72 million from Signature Bank. The funds replace New York Community Bank as lender. The properties are located at 88-09, 88-25 and 148-48 148th Street, 191-11 Woodhull Avenue and 91-59 191st Street. Zara acquired the buildings in 2012 for a combined $39 million.