NEW YORK CITY — Arbor Realty Trust Inc. has provided a $15 million bridge loan for the refinancing of a 43-unit apartment complex located at 2417 Albemarle Road in Brooklyn. The property was built in 2018 and features an oversized common deck, bike storage area and an underground parking garage. Eugene Yanovskiy of Arbor originated the loan, which carries a two-year term with interest-only payments. The borrower was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — JLL has arranged $70 million in acquisition and construction financing for a new multifamily project that will be located at 308 Livingston St. in Brooklyn. In addition to the construction financing, the developer, Lonicera Partners, sourced preferred equity from Twining Properties and a major institutional investor to develop the 23-story project, which is in the pre-construction phase. Lonicera will demolish the existing five buildings on the site make way for a development containing 160 apartments, including 48 affordable housing units, as well as 9,460 square feet of retail space. Amenities will include a sky lounge, common dining room, entertainment lounge, fitness center and coworking office space. Jonathan Schwartz, Aaron Appel, Keith Kurlan, Adam Schwartz and Mark Fisher of JLL arranged the financing through Santander Bank and City National Bank on behalf of Lonicera.
NEW YORK CITY — Restaurateur Todd Leong, owner of Lucky Rice as well as Leaf Bar & Lounge, will open The Beer Assembly, a 3,550-square-foot beer garden at Tangram. The 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use development is located in Flushing. Developed by F&T Group and Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), Tangram features residential, office, retail and hospitality uses, including a 24,000-square-foot food hall that will be positioned adjacent to the beer garden. The opening is slated for early 2020.
NEW YORK CITY — Commercial brokerage firm TerraCRG has arranged the sale of 1000 Dean Street, a 150,000-square-foot office building in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn, for approximately $55.9 million. Asher Abehsera, founder and CEO of LIVWRK, was the buyer of the historic building, which was originally constructed in 1920 as a service station for Dodge and Plymouth vehicles. LIVWRK is a real estate company focused on mixed-use urban development. The seller, a joint venture that included the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group, purchased the building in 2012 and converted it into an office property that is now home to more than 90 media companies, nonprofit organizations, tech start-ups and manufacturers. Ofer Cohen, Dan Marks and Daniel Lebor of TerraCRG brokered the deal.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Hampshire Venture Partners LLC has purchased a 134,444-square-foot retail building in Syracuse that was formerly occupied by Sam’s Club The purchase price was roughly $5.6 million. The new ownership plans to convert the building, which sits on 14.2 acres at 2649 Erie Blvd., into a self-storage facility. Phil Marshall of O,R&L Commercial represented Hampshire in the sale. Bill Anninos of CBRE represented the seller, Sam’s Real Estate Business Trust. No timeline for the building conversion was provided.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $3.2 million sale of 37-55 61st St., a 6,200-square-foot industrial asset in the Woodside neighborhood of Queens. The building includes office space. Stephen Preuss and Rani Bendary of Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction on behalf of the buyer and seller, both of which were private investors. The site allows for future expansion of an additional 9,600 square feet.
NEW YORK CITY — ACT Commodities Inc., a commodities brokerage firm, has expanded its office lease at 437 Madison Avenue in Manhattan by 4,805 square feet, raising the size of its footprint at the property to 17,750 square feet. The 40-story, 850,000-square-foot building was recently renovated to the tune of $60 million. Frank Doyle, David Kleiner, Cynthia Wasserberger, Hayley Shoener and Harlan Webster of JLL represented the landlord, The William Kaufman Organization (WKO), in the lease negotiations along with Michael Lenchner of Sage Realty Corp., the leasing and management division of WKO. Craig Lemle of Savills represented the tenant.
NEW YORK CITY — Global investment bank Greenhill & Co. has signed a 78,000-square-foot office lease at the former Time & Life building within Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. Rockefeller Group, which owns the 48-story building located at 1271 Avenue of the Americas, is wrapping up a $600 million redevelopment program that is scheduled for completion by year’s end. Following Greenhill’s relocation from 300 Park Avenue in 2020, the building will be close to fully leased. Michael Geoghegan, Andrew Sussman and Peter Gamber of CBRE represented Greenhill in the lease negotiations. Mary Ann Tighe, Howard Fiddle, John Maher, Evan Haskell and Dave Caperna of CBRE represented Rockefeller Group, along with internal associates Ed Guiltinan and Jennifer Stein.
NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between Ares Corp. and Douglaston Development will develop 601 West 29th Street, a 931-unit residential tower that will be located at the intersection of Manhattan’s Hudson Yards and West Chelsea neighborhoods. The property, which will span a full city block and rise 58 stories, will comprise 697 market-rate units and 234 affordable units, as well as 186 parking spaces and 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, outdoor terraces, resident lounges and pet care services. A syndicate of banks led by HSBC and including Bank of China and Raymond James Bank provided construction financing. Greystone arranged the debt. Demolition work on the site is underway and completion is slated for late 2022.
NEW YORK CITY — RDC Development has completed its redevelopment of Ocean Bay Apartments, a project valued at $560 million. Ocean Bay, which houses 1,395 units and nearly 4,000 residents, was damaged in a storm and forced to undergo a two-year rehabilitation project that featured renovated kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. The rehab project also saw the replacement of roofs, as well as upgrades to elevators, utility systems and public hallways. RDC financed the redevelopment through HUD’s Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, which stipulates that the refreshed units remain affordable to low-income households.