Lenders Jump at New Resi Projects in New York City

With new tax subsidies in place for affordable housing construction in New York, following a year of practically no new residential construction projects, lenders pulled the trigger in April on new developments in Halletts Point, Mott Haven and Flatbush, all in the outer boroughs.

Refinancings visited L&L’s shiny new office building at 425 Park Avenue, the Brodsky Organization’s 18 Sixth Avenue and the Monogram condo project in Midtown Manhattan.

Here are the ten biggest real estate loans issued in New York City:

L & L does well | $484 | Midtown

A subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank refinanced debt at 425 Park Avenue, a new office development in Midtown Manhattan by L & L Holding Company. A senior debt amount of $484 million was reportedly part of a five-year, floating-rate refinance loan of $911 million which replaces Canadian Otera Capital as the lender on the 670,000-square-foot property. In 2021, the property underwent another $911 million debt deal to fund construction and completion. The tower’s anchor tenant is Ken Griffin’s Citadel.

Brodsky Boost | $415 | Prospect Heights

M&T Realty Capital supplied $415 million to refinance the residential portion of the Brodsky Organization’s Prospect Heights project, on the corner of Atlantic Avenue near the Barclays Center. The 740,000-square-foot building with 51 stories at 18 Sixth Avenue was completed in November 2022, and home to Brooklyn’s largest retail lease of 2023.

Monogram Moneygram | $185 | Midtown East

Kriss Capital of New York lent Navigation Capital Group, a firm created to develop the new condominium building backed by China’s Hopson Development and dubbed the Monogram, with $185 million secured by 191 unsold condo units at the 35-story tower, at 135 East 47th Street in Midtown East, and retires $156 million in construction debt issued by Fortress Investment Group in 2022.

Halletts Point | $157 million | Astoria

Wells Fargo extended a construction loan at 20 and 30 Halletts Point, two new residential developments with 650 combined apartments that topped out last fall. The debt is part of $230 million in financing from Wells, TD Bank, ICBC and Bank of New York Mellon, according to a representative from Durst. After the state’s new, more costly agreement for affordable housing production dubbed 485x, the developer halted the third and final phase of its Hallets Point project, leaving 870 new apartments on the editing room floor. The debt is also secured by 3-24 27th Avenue, a fully affordable building located on a nearby NYCHA campus.

Beitel’s juice | $150 million | Mott Haven

Scale Lending, which is Slate Property Group’s loan business, provided $150 million to build a 450-unit multifamily project at 120 East 144th Street in Mott Haven, the Bronx. Ben Beitel’s eponymous firm is the developer. The project was among the largest submitted for city approval in 2022. Private lenders including Scale have become more active as banks have broadly slowed commercial lending, due in part to their exposure to the office market.

Light at Sunrose | $117 million | Hamilton Heights

The Bank of Montreal and Argentic Investment Management provided the Chetrit family and the Jay Group with a $117 million refi of their mortgage at Sunrose Tower, a mixed-use multifamily apartment building at 620 West 153rd Street. The loan combines an unpaid principal of $81.6 million with a $35.3 gap mortgage note issued in April 2023.

Now we’re cooking | $104 million | Hell’s Kitchen

New York’s Webster Bank loaned $104 million to affordable housing developer Hudson Companies to build a residential building with 112 units on a parking lot at 364 West 54th Street. Non-profit partner Housing Works, an AIDS and housing charity, bought the site for one dollar and a $40 million mortgage from New York City. The building will have ground-floor retail and office space for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, whose Rail Control Center abuts the site.

Lucky goose | $100 million | Williamsburg

H.I.G. Realty Partners provided $100 million in financing, including a new bridge loan, to Goose Property Management CEO Yitzchok Katz to complete a 186-unit residential project at 575 Grand Street in Williamsburg. The loan replaces Slate Property Group’s Scale Lending, and is also secured by 268 Bergen Street, 273 Wyckoff Street and 287 Wyckoff Street.

Student hou-zing | $98 million | Roosevelt Island

Cornell University provided a $98 refi to Hudson Companies for the school’s student and teacher housing building in Roosevelt Island. Wells Fargo was the previous lender for the 352-unit property at 1 East Loop Road called the House at Cornell Tech.

Building Bistricer | $95 million | Flatbush

Bank Hapoalim is financing the construction of a 227-unit apartment building at 2359 Bedford Avenue in Flatbush developed by David Bistricer’s Clipper Equities. The loan is reportedly part of a $110 million financing package. Bistricer’s firm bought the site, part of the neighborhood’s former Sears department store campus, from Vornado Realty Trust in 2022 for $90 million. Bistricer’s firm is building 650 units across the street, too, financed by Scale Lending.