Developer bags $257M for Jersey City complex

Building and Land Technology landed one of the largest Freddie Mac single-asset financing deals for its six-building multifamily complex in Jersey City.

The developer scored a $257 million loan from Greystone at 20 Beacon Way, the Commercial Observer reported. The financing takes the form of a 10-year, fixed-rate loan.

Several brokers from Cushman & Wakefield were involved in the transaction, including Josh Alascio and Alex Hernandez from the firm’s debt and structured finance team.

BLT’s project at 20 Beacon Way spans a half-dozen properties, encompassing 14 acres near the intersection of Baldwin Avenue and Montgomery Street. Dubbed “The Beacon,” the Art Deco-inspired complex will include 1,155 units.

Cushman & Wakefield had been on the financing hunt for the recently completed development since November. 

The transaction had a complex structure, Greystone’s Judah Rosenberg told the Observer. The loan was index-locked quickly after the application to take advantage of a decline in Treasury notes. 

The development includes a 510-space parking garage, as well as a slew of amenities like children’s playrooms, sky lounges, fitness centers, a yoga studio, bocce court and private park.

BLT acquired the site from George Filopoulos in 2011, before embarking on a repositioning of the former hospital buildings, which were part of the Jersey City Medical Center.

Lenders have proven to have an appetite for multifamily projects in Jersey City, where rents are rising quickly and proving to be among the highest in the tri-state area. 

Pacific Western Bank last year provided a $97 million loan to Ursa Development Group and Fields Grade Development for the construction of a 336-unit project on the border of Hoboken.

Months earlier, Sequoia Development Group landed a similar $95 million loan from Parkview Financial and Montgomery Street Partners to build a 16-story, 300-unit multifamily project at 711 Montgomery Street.

— Holden Walter-Warner