NEW YORK CITY — A joint venture between development and investment firm Olshan Properties and New York City-based O’Connor Capital Partners has completed Parkchester Gardens, a 221-unit affordable senior living project in The Bronx. Units are reserved for renters earning 50 percent or less of the area median income. Wells Fargo financed the project in conjunction with the New York City Housing Development Corp. and the Department of Housing Preservation & Development. Construction began in spring 2021.
FORKED RIVER, N.J. — New Jersey-based developer Walters has broken ground on a 70-unit multifamily project in Forked River, located along the Jersey Shore. The nine-building project represents the third and final phase of Cornerstone at Lacey, the first two phases of which delivered 118 units in one-, two- and three-bedroom formats across 15 buildings. Phase III, which also includes the construction of a new clubhouse, is slated for a late 2025 completion.
GREENLAWN, N.Y. — New York-based Nouvini Property Investments has purchased a retail property in the Long Island community of Greenlawn for $3 million. According to LoopNet Inc., the property at 233-243 Broadway was built in 2012, totals 20,000 square feet and is home to multiple restaurants. Triple Net Brokers represented both Nouvini and the undisclosed seller in this transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — New York-based developer Goose Property Management has received a $68 million loan for the refinancing of Astor on Third II, a 137-unit apartment building located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens. Astor on Third II is a newly built property that offers studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans, as well as 17,900 square feet of retail space. Amenities include a rooftop deck, children’s playroom, fitness center, screening room, package room and resident’s lounge with a pool table, board games and kitchenette. Henry Bodek of Galaxy Capital originated the loan through Affinius Capital. Goose Management will use a portion of the proceeds to fund additional leasing costs to stabilize the property.
WALTHAM, MASS. — CBRE has brokered the sale of Gardencrest Apartment Homes, a 696-unit multifamily community located in the western Boston suburb of Waltham. Built in phases on a 34-acre site between 1949 and 1972, Gardencrest consists of 64 buildings that house a mix of traditional apartments and direct-entry townhomes with an average size of 906 square feet. Amenities include a pool, clubhouse and a fitness center. Simon Butler, Biria St. John, John McLaughlin and Brian Bowler of CBRE represented the seller, an affiliate of Virginia-based Harbor Group International, in the transaction. The team also procured the buyer, an affiliate of San Francisco-based Fowler Property Acquisition, which has rebranded the property as ReNew Waltham.
KEARNY, N.J. — Locally based direct lender Procida Funding has provided a $20 million construction loan for The Helio, a 69-unit multifamily project that will be located in the Northern New Jersey community of Kearny. The property will house 15 studios, 38 one-bedroom units and 16 two-bedroom apartments, as well as a 130-space parking garage, a fitness center, lounge and a rooftop deck. The borrower is an affiliate of New York City-based HA Capital Corp.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based brokerage firm Ariel Property Advisors has negotiated the $16.5 million sale of two apartment buildings totaling 110 units that are located at 226 and 259 W. 144th St. in Harlem. The elevator-served buildings both rise six stories and include one ground-floor commercial space between them. Victor Sozio, Shimon Shkury, Gabriel Elyaszadeh and Remi Mandell of Ariel represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was also not disclosed.
PITTSFIELD, MASS. — New Jersey-based intermediary Cronheim Mortgage has arranged a $7.4 million refinancing of Merrill Road Retail Plaza in the western Massachusetts city of Pittsfield. Built in 1971, the property was fully leased at the time of the loan closing to tenants such as T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Harbor Freight, Aspen Dental, Sally Beauty Supply and Planet Fitness. Andrew Stewart, Dev Morris and Brandon Szwalbenest of Cronheim arranged the 10-year loan on behalf of the borrower, Phoenix Realty Management.
By Taylor Williams From an investment perspective, the New Jersey industrial market has plenty going for it: residential density throughout, proximity to major ports, high barriers to new development — but not even those fundamentals could shield the sector from macroeconomic variables that have caused deal volume and velocity to drop in recent years. Given the benefit of hindsight, the decline in industrial investment sales activity between late 2022 and early 2024 is not really surprising. Like most major industrial markets, those of both Northern and Southern New Jersey saw explosive demand for space in the early months of the pandemic as Americans sheltered in place and did their shopping online. Rents soared to record highs; cap rates compressed to historic lows. Institutional capital planted its flag in the Class A trophy space, and investors of all types duked it out for everything else. It was a hell of a party, but it couldn’t last. And when the lights began to come back on in the form of rising interest rates, sellers that didn’t have to sell generally chose not to. “Cap rates leveled off with the pricing discovery that went on when interest rates started rising,” explains Marc Isdaner, …
NEW YORK CITY — Shawmut Design & Construction has completed The St. Vincent Health Sciences Center, a $106 million academic project located on the campus of St. John’s University in Queens. The 70,000-square-foot facility functions as a pass-through from the Residence Village to the Great Lawn and the main academic hub of the campus. The building houses classrooms, laboratories, patient simulation spaces and private study rooms, as well as a multi-story “living room,” which functions as a social hub and collaborative space for students and faculty. CannonDesign served as the project architect.