NEW YORK CITY — Mortgage banking company Merchants Capital has arranged a $51 million construction loan and $28.4 million in Freddie Mac Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to fund the redevelopment of Manhattan’s historic Park 79 hotel into an affordable housing property for seniors. The borrower and project developer, Fairstead, will oversee renovations that will reconfigure the seven-story building into 77 apartments along with multiple community spaces, including an indoor/outdoor community room, dining room and meeting rooms. Additional rehabilitation will be done throughout the building, including creation of a common dining and recreation room, social services offices and an outdoor garden area. Upon completion, the property will employ two full-time social service coordinators to work alongside residents in organizing community programming events. The hotel originally opened in 1899 as “The Indiana.” The redevelopment is expected to be complete in 2022.
NEW YORK CITY — Knighthead Funding, a direct lender with offices in Connecticut and South Florida, has provided a $42 million construction loan for an 84,746-square-foot medical office building that will be located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. The borrower was a local partnership doing business as Astoria Crescent Owner LLC. Mount Sinai Health System, which has a hospital across the street, has signed a 30-year lease as the building’s anchor tenant, which brings its preleased occupancy rate to 65 percent. An expected completion date was not disclosed.
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. — Rubenstein Mortgage Capital has arranged a $57 million acquisition loan for a 465,000-square-foot office building located at 115 Tabor Road in the Northern New Jersey community of Morris Plains. The property was originally developed as a build-to-suit in 2007 as a headquarters facility for Pfizer. Following Pfizer’s acquisition by Johnson & Johnson, the building was vacant until Honeywell purchased it in 2015 and implemented a full interior renovation. Amenities now include a cafeteria, auditorium, basketball court and a fitness center. Andrew Murray of Rubenstein Mortgage originated the loan through an undisclosed lender on behalf of the borrower, Argent Ventures.
CHICAGO — JLL Capital Markets has arranged $30.7 million in construction financing for 601-609 W. Randolph in Chicago’s Fulton Market. The project scope includes the renovation of an existing five-story office building as well as the development of a new 15-story office building. Designed by Antunovich Associates, the new building will feature pandemic-related features such as small floorplans with flexible layouts, touchless options and fresh air exchange. Amenities will include a rooftop terrace, fitness room, bike room, business lounge, café and coworking space. A JLL team led by Christopher Knight represented the borrower, Vista Property Group. Bank OZK was the lender. Skender is the general contractor. Completion is slated for early 2022.
CANBY, ORE. — San Francisco-based Glencrest Group has purchased The Township, an apartment community located at 700 SE Fifth Ave. in Canby, approximately 25 miles south of Portland. Andrew Behrens and Jesee Weber of CBRE arranged a $13.8 million, 10-year, fixed-rate loan for the buyer. Josh McDonald of CBRE’s Portland office represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The Township features 92 units in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans spread across 13 buildings, with an average unit size of 987 square feet. The apartments offer decks, patios and washer/dryers. Community amenities include a clubhouse, fitness center, playground, storage units and 166 parking spaces. At the time of sale, the property was 98 percent leased.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Ready Capital has provided a $5 million acquisition loan for a two-building, 280,000-square-foot industrial property in Memphis’ Airport submarket. The undisclosed borrower will use a portion of the funds to renovate the buildings. Plans include upgraded lighting, roof replacements and parking lot repairs. Ready Capital closed the non-recourse, interest-only loan, which features a 24-month term, floating interest rate, two extension options and flexible prepayment options. The property’s physical address and tenant roster were not disclosed.
HALTOM CITY, TEXAS — JLL has arranged an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing for Hidden Lakes and Ranch at Fossil Creek, two multifamily properties totaling 586 units in Haltom City, a northern suburb of Fort Worth. Hidden Lakes totals 312 units that average 928 square feet and come in one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The property was 94 percent occupied at the time of sale. Ranch at Fossil Creek was built in 2002 and features 274 units across 13 buildings on a 17.5-acre site. The community was 92 percent leased at the time of sale. Both properties offer amenities such as pools, fitness centers, business centers, clubhouses and sports courts. Jeremy Sain and Brooks Burgin of JLL arranged the financing through Global Atlantic Financial Group on behalf of the borrower, Exponential Property Group.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has provided a $33.9 million Freddie Mac loan for the refinancing of Waters at Bluff Springs, an affordable housing community in Austin. According to Apartments.com, the property was built in 2001 and offers 300 units in one-, two- and three-bedroom formats. Residences are reserved for renters earning between 50 and 80 percent of the area median income. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, business center and a community garden. Phil Melton of Bellwether originated the 12-year, fixed-rate loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital, a New York-based real estate private equity firm, has provided a $73.5 million loan for the refinancing of a portfolio of eight commercial properties in New Jersey. The portfolio consists of an 8.7-acre residential, commercial and self-storage development site in Harrison; three industrial assets in Harrison, Kearny and Boonton; a Class A industrial flex building; a net-leased retail property in Harrison; and two parcels totaling 8.1 acres in Kearny and Brick. Glenn Thomas and Thomas Ravert of Pathway Capital Corp. arranged the loan. The borrower was not disclosed.
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — G.S. Wilcox & Co. has arranged a $6.8 million loan for the refinancing of Greymark at Bridgewater, a 111,500-square-foot office building in Northern New Jersey. According to LoopNet Inc., the three-story property was built in 1985, renovated in 2017 and features a conference facility and onsite food services. David Fryer of G.S. Wilcox originated the loan through an undisclosed lender. The borrower was also undisclosed.