NEWARK, N.J. — Merchants Capital has secured $120 million in construction financing for Museum Parc, a 250-unit, mixed-income multifamily project in Newark. The financing consists of a $62 million construction loan provided by parent company Merchants Bank and a $58 million Freddie Mac 9 Percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit forward permanent loan. Museum Parc will be a two-building complex in the downtown area that will also house a 4,120-square-foot Newark Museum of Art gallery and approximately 2,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Twenty percent of the units will be reserved as affordable housing. Of those 50 residences, 45 will be reserved for households earning 50 percent or less of the area median income (AMI), and the other five will be reserved for households earning 30 percent or less of AMI. Amenities will include a fitness center, coworking space, game room, speakeasy lounge, commercial kitchen area and a rooftop terrace. Michael Milazzo of Merchants Capital handled the transaction on behalf of the developer, a partnership between an affiliate of L+M Development Partners and local housing operator MCI Collective.
