NEW YORK CITY — Locally based private equity firm Madison Realty Capital (MRC) has provided a $29.4 million bridge loan for a multifamily redevelopment project in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens. The borrower, a joint venture between multiple New York-based developers, will use the proceeds to acquire the former Parkway Hospital building and fund predevelopment costs. The joint venture plans to convert the site into a multifamily development with affordable seniors housing and condominium uses. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
MELVILLE, N.Y. — Accounting firm CohnReznick LLP has signed a 12,918-square-foot office lease at Melville Square Corporate Center, a 165,310-square-foot building located in the Long Island city of Melville. The deal brings the property, which also houses tenants such as Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, KPMG and RUI Credit Services, to full occupancy. Internal agent Tim Parlante represented the landlord, The Feil Organization, in the lease negotiations.
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Jonathan Rose Cos., L+M Development Partners and Acacia Network has received $223 million in financing for the second and final phase of Sendero Verde, an affordable housing project in East Harlem that will add 347 units to the local supply. The development team topped off the 360 units that were part of Phase I of the project in November. Construction of Phase II is set to begin in the coming weeks and completion is slated for 2024. Units will serve renters at a variety of income levels, from formerly homeless to those who earn 90 percent of the area median income. The property offers residential amenities such as a community room, fitness center, computer lounge and package lockers. Once both phases are completed, Sendero Verde will feature a senior and youth community center, a school, art room, publicly accessible open space, community gardens and neighborhood retail. Financing for Phase II of Sendero Verde included construction loans from the New York City Housing Development Corp. and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The project is also being funded through a letter of credit from Citibank and a syndication of federal …
NEW YORK CITY — Aeroterm, a provider of facility-related services to airports throughout North America, has signed a ground lease at JFK International Airport in Queens with plans to open a $145 million cargo handling facility. The project is expected to create about 350 new jobs. Aeroterm will develop the 26-acre facility in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Worldwide Flight Services, the main cargo handler at JFK, as part of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s JFK Vision Plan to redevelop the airport. Demolition of the existing facilities on the site is scheduled to begin in September, with project completion slated for the end of 2023.
NEWARK, N.J. — Greystone has arranged a $94 million construction loan for a 403-unit multifamily project that will be located at 55 Union St. in downtown Newark. The project will include 3,000 square feet of retail space and a 196-space parking garage. The amenity package will consist of a rooftop garden and entertainment area, an outdoor courtyard with grills, fire pits and lounge space and a fitness center. Drew Fletcher, Matthew Hirsch and Steven Deck of Greystone placed the debt on behalf of the developer, J&L Cos. Inc. A four-bank syndicate led by Valley National Bank and including Bank Hapoalim, Abanca USA and TriState Capital Bank provided the loan.
NEW YORK CITY — Scale Lending, an affiliate of Slate Property Group, has provided a $63 million construction loan for 322 Grand Concourse, a 151-unit multifamily project that will be located in the Mott Haven area of The Bronx. Thirty percent (45) of the units in the 14-story building will be earmarked as affordable housing. Construction is expected to take about two years to complete.
IRVINGTON, N.J. — The NRP Group, a Cleveland-based developer, has broken ground on a 56-unit affordable housing project in the Northern New Jersey community of Irvington. The five-story, mid-rise building will offer a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom residential units that will be reserved for residents earning 60 percent or less than the area median income. Five of the 56 units will be set aside for residents with special needs. Amenities will include a fitness center, children’s playroom, computer room, laundry facilities and an onsite management/leasing office. Financing partners include the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Hudson Housing, The Township of Irvington and Greater Newark LISC.
NEW YORK CITY — Fashionphile, a California-based provider of resale services for women’s apparel and accessories, has signed a 60,000-square-foot office lease at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. The building encompasses 2.3 million square feet of office and retail space and a full city block along 11th and 12th avenues and 26th and 27th streets. Jason Frazier and Jesse de la Rama of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Dan Birney and Denise Rodriguez represented the landlord, RXR Realty, on an internal basis along with Jeffrey Fischer, Evan Haskell, Mary Ann Tighe and Sacha Zarba of CBRE. The lease term was 10 years, and the asking rent was $70 per square foot.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based real estate giant SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) has received a $3 billion loan for the refinancing of One Vanderbilt, a 1.7 million-square-foot office tower in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan. Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates and located across the street from Grand Central Station, One Vanderbilt rises 77 stories and 1,401 feet, making it the tallest building in Midtown Manhattan. SL Green developed the property, which carried a price tag of $3.3 billion, in partnership with Houston-based Hines and the National Pension Service of Korea. One Vanderbilt includes 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space. In terms of tenant amenities, the building features a 30,000-square-foot space with meeting areas, a club-style lounge, curated food offerings and an outdoor terrace that faces Grand Central. A consortium of financial institutions led by Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs provided the debt, which was structured with a 10-year term and all-in fixed interest rate of approximately 2.94 percent. Other lenders that contributed to the financing included Bank of America, Bank of China, Bank of Montreal, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc. and Citi. Chatham Financial acted as an advisor …
By Joel Marcus, partner, Marcus & Pollack LLP What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? The longstanding physics conundrum encapsulates the situation in which New York City property owners currently find themselves, and for better or worse, they’re about to discover the answer to the age-old question. City government has squeezed increasing sums of property taxes from its real estate stock in each of the past 25 years, but the pandemic is changing everything. The basic fact is that 53 percent of New York City revenues come from real estate taxes. Fueled by rising rents that are tied to high costs of new construction, the city property tax base has grown and enjoyed record tax revenues in recent years. Total real property tax revenue was almost $30 billion in 2020, according to the city’s annual property tax report. Historically speaking, no major event in recent memory has been responsible for a pause in the year-over-year tax increases — not the Financial Crisis of 2018, nor Hurricane Sandy, nor even the events of September 11. It seems as though only a global pandemic has this particular power. COVID-19 has affected every element of New York City’s economy, but …