NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has provided a $31.4 million loan for the construction of a mixed-use development at 744 Bedford Ave. in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. All proceeds of the loan will go toward completing construction of the 134,742-square-foot building. When complete, the building will include 88 residential rental units, 18,393 square feet of retail space and 76 parking spaces. The borrower, a local developer, has laid the foundation of the building and begun construction. The project is scheduled to be complete by spring 2019.
NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $42 million in financing for the acquisition and renovation of an apartment property in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan. The eight-story property is located at 10 Rutgers St. and includes 83 units. A balance sheet lender provided the seven-year loan, which features three years of interest-only payments, followed by a 30-year amortization schedule. The borrower, AMAC Holdings, plans to renovate and reposition the property. Tal Bar-Or and Richard Sutton of Meridian negotiated the financing in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Fisher Brothers has signed B. Riley Financial to a 29,173-square-foot lease at 299 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The property is one of Fisher Brothers’ signature buildings. Los Angeles-based B. Riley, a full-service investment bank, signed a 10-year lease to occupy the entire 21st floor of the 42-story building. The building, which was constructed in 1967, occupies the full block between 48th and 49th streets. B. Riley was represented by Jared Horowitz and Justin Pollner of Newmark Knight Frank in the transaction. Fisher Brothers was represented in-house by Marc Packman and Charles P. Laginestra. 299 Park Avenue is now 90 percent leased.
NEW YORK CITY — Rosewood Realty Group has arranged the sale of two five-story mixed-use buildings located at 943 and 973 Columbus Ave. in Manhattan for $14 million at a capitalization rate of 5.2 percent. The two buildings combined span 18,123 square feet. Built in 1910, the properties feature 36 apartments and four retail stores. Aaron Jungreis of Rosewood represented the seller, the Orbach Group. Ben Khakshoor represented the buyer, the Mehta family. The two properties are one-half mile southeast of Columbia University.
NEWBURGH, N.Y. — The Stubblebine Co./CORFAC International has arranged a 180,000-square-foot industrial lease for Gekay Sales & Service Co. at 3 Enterprise Drive in Newburgh. Gekay specializes in fountain system repairs in the soft drink and vending machine industries. David and James Stubblebine of Stubblebine Co. represented the tenant while Art Ross and Lisa Ann Pollakowski of Newmark Knight Frank represented the landlord, Newburgh Industrial Associates. The property, which features 24-foot ceiling heights and 33 loading docks, was previously a distribution facility and is located seven miles east of Stewart International Airport.
NEW YORK CITY — ReadyCap Commercial has hired new team members in Chicago and New York to expand its bridge lending team. Fernando Mendez has been hired as associate director and Joram Coxworth has been hired as a production analyst for the New York City office. Mark Blaha has been hired as director of originations for the Chicago and Midwest regions. Blaha has more than seven years of commercial real estate lending and finance experience in the Chicago and Midwest markets. Coxworth previously served as a credit analyst with M&T Bank and was added to the New York City office to support originations. The bridge lending team is headquartered at the Sutherland Asset Management offices located in New York City.
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO — Brookfield Property Partners (NASDAQ: BPY) has agreed to acquire all remaining shares of GGP Inc. (NYSE: GGP), a Chicago-based mall owner. BPY, a global real estate company based in New York City, and its affiliates already hold a 34 percent stake in GGP. The deal struck between the two parties is for GGP shareholders to receive $23.50 per share in cash, a total cash consideration of $9.25 billion. Alternately, shareholders may elect to receive stock in either BPY or a new REIT that BPY plans to list on one of the major U.S. exchanges. “This is a compelling transaction that enables GGP shareholders to receive premium value for their shares and gives them the ability to participate in the long-term upside of their investment,” says Brian Kingston, CEO of BPY. The newly agreed-upon deal comprises a cash-to-equity ratio of 61/39, which is more cash-centric than BPY’s original 50/50 cash-to-equity offer to acquire the remainder of GGP last November. Shares in the new REIT will be equivalent to that of a BPY unit. BPY’s parent company, Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), has guaranteed the exchange of the shares between the two stocks (totaling 254 million units) …
NEW YORK CITY — Rosewood Realty Group has arranged the sale of a 56,700-square-foot apartment building in Manhattan for $44.1 million. Located at 1274-1275 Fifth Ave., the six-story, 54-unit building sold at a capitalization rate of 2.71 percent. Former New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who held office from 1934-1945, lived in the penthouse of the building shortly before Gracie Mansion became the official mayoral residence in 1942. Billy Billitzer of Rosewood Realty represented the buyer, Akelius Real Estate Management. Aaron Jungreis, also of Rosewood, represented the seller, Ofer Yardeni’s Stonehenge Partners. The property is located just east of Central Park on Fifth Avenue’s Museum Mile.
NEW YORK CITY — GFI Realty Services has arranged the sale of a six-story, 46-unit apartment building in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn for $12.5 million. The pre-war property, located at 218 74th St., consists of 16 studios, 28 one-bedroom units and a couple of two-bedroom units, all of which are rent-stabilized. Yosef Katz and Natan Safdieh of GFI Realty represented the seller in the transaction, Madeleine Behette, a local investor. Erik Yankelovich, also of GFI, procured the buyer, Meridian Properties. The property is located on a tree-lined block between Ridge Boulevard and 3rd Avenue.
NEW YORK CITY — Westbridge Realty Group has arranged the sale of a 5,600-square-foot apartment building located at 20-35 Gates Ave in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens. The vacant six-unit building, which was built in 1930, sold for $2.2 million. The sales price equates to $379,000 per unit. Adam Traub and Isaac Shrem of Westbridge Realty represented both the buyer, an active investor in Queens, and the seller, a long-term holder who purchased the property in 1985.