Developers the Rockefeller Group and TDC Development have pulled together $313 million to finance the first phase of their Flushing Commons project.
F&T Group, of which TDC is a subsidiary, and Rockefeller raised the capital, topping up a $235 million loan from Starwood Property closed at the end of March with an additional $78 million. The latest round of financing includes debt and equity capital.
The deal marks the final hurdle for the long-delayed project, estimated to cost $850 million and slated to kick off construction in mid-March, the TimesLedger reported. Set upon Flushing’s Municipal Lot 1 at the corner of 39th Avenue and Union Street, the site will ultimately house a multi-use complex with residential, retail and commercial space, along with a 62,000-square-foot YMCA and 1,600 parking spots.
Originally proposed eight years ago and approved by City Council in 2010, the project hit repeated snags as a result of funding problems.
“We’re finally here after a lot of years,” Michael Meyer, head of F&T Group, said at a Community Board 7 meeting in December. “With the economic downturn of the last five years, it threw a monkey wrench into our plans.”
Phase 1, slated for completion in early 2017, will hold 220,000 square feet of commercial and office space, along with 150 units of market-rate housing. [TimesLedger] — Julie Strickland