Naftali, Blavatnik Score $525M In Loans For Williamsburg Wharf

Miki Naftali and Len Blavatnik snagged $525 million in construction loans for their waterfront megaproject in Williamsburg.

JP Morgan Chase and GoldenTree Asset Management agreed to back the second phase of the massive Williamsburg Wharf project, the developers announced on Thursday.

The Naftali Group and Access Industries will use the floating rate, interest-only loans to build more than 360 condos across two residential towers known as 80 Wharf Way, which is expected to be completed in 2028.

The planned condos will join Williamsburg Wharf’s three existing towers, currently comprised of 89 condos, 500 luxury rental apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space.

GoldenTree did not immediately respond to a request for comment. JP Morgan declined to comment.

A team with Walker & Dunlop Capital Markets Institutional Advisory including Keith Kurland and Aaron Appel arranged the deal. A spokesperson for the firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bank OZK agreed in 2022 to provide $385 million in construction loans for part one of the project at 470 Kent Avenue. Bank OZK pledged another round of financing last year, including a $179 million building loan and $59 million project loan.

In June, GoldenTree teamed up with Bank OZK and TZ Capital to provide $600 million in financing to Related CEO Steve Ross’ South Flagler House project in West Palm Beach. Bank OZK was the senior lender pledging $475 million in financing, while GoldenTree and TZ provided the $125 million mezzanine loan.

Last August, Naftali snagged $675 million in financing from JP Morgan to close his deal to buy Eliot Spitzer and the Winter Organization’s rental building at 800 Fifth Avenue. Naftali agreed to purchase the building in March 2024 for $800 million.

Naftali signed a contract to purchase the Williamsburg Wharf site, a former lumberyard, for $180 million in 2019 and closed on a portion of it in 2020 for $100 million. At the time, the site was considered the last piece of undeveloped land along the East River in North Brooklyn.

The developers last year unveiled plans for the sprawling development, which Naftali described as an “urban resort.” Among them was a condo tower, dubbed One Williamsburg Wharf, which has, in the months since, snagged several pricey deals.

One Williamsburg Wharf has been battling with Two Trees’ One Domino Square for the record of the highest price per square foot for a condo in Williamsburg. A team with Serhant, led by Peter Zaitzeff, is heading sales at the Wharf building, which has sold more than 60 percent of its units since launching last September, according to the latest data from Marketproof.

The developers also notched their first retail lease in March. Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani’s restaurant group Good People Group agreed to lease 4,000 square feet on the ground floor with plans to open a new restaurant.