The top outer borough real estate loans for April were all about Brooklyn and Queens.
Brooklyn loans took up seven out of the top 10 spots, while Queens loans took up the other three. The Bronx and Staten Island did not have any loans crack the top 10 that month.
The largest loan for April was for $251 million from Bank of the Ozarks to RAL Companies, Vanke U.S. and Oliver’s Realty Group for their Pier 6 project at Brooklyn Bridge Park, while a $175 million loan from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and M&T Bank to Two Trees for 260 Kent Avenue came in second place. Queens showed up for the first time in third place at 88-15 Queens Boulevard, where Madison International Realty received $100 million from Natixis.
The full list of top 10 outer borough loans for April is as follows:
1. A pierless loan – $251 million
The top outer borough loan for April was a $251 million construction loan from Bank of the Ozarks to RAL Companies, Vanke U.S. and Oliver’s Realty Group for Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. The loan was part of a $411 million financing package the companies received for their project, which consists of a 28-story, 126-unit luxury condo tower and a 14-story, 140-unit rental building with 100 affordable apartments. The financing was arranged by Meridian Capital Group.
2. Two Trees at 260 – $175 million
Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and M&T Bank bought $175 million in New York State Housing Finance Agency bonds at Two Trees Management’s project at 260 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg on the Domino Sugar Factory site. The company has been looking for the financing since at least January and plans to build a 22-story office building at the site. The project’s total development cost is expected to be $309 million.
3. I am Queens Boulevard – $100 million
Queens made its first appearance on the list at number three with a $100 million loan from Natixis to Madison International Realty for 88-15 Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst. The loan for Madison’s Queens Place Mall replaces and consolidates $77 million in debt from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company and adds a $23 million gap mortgage, according to the Commercial Observer.
4. Look for the Union Labor Life Insurance Company Label – $74 million
Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty nabbed a $74 million mortgage from Union Labor Life Insurance Company for 175-225 3rd Street in Gowanus. It purchased the three-acre site from SL Green and Kushner Companies, and it is located in the part of Gowanus that could be rezoned. Union Labor provided a gap mortgage of $34 million and assumed the unpaid $40 million balance on the property.
5. The Williamsburg Quartet – $65 million
The Jacobowitz family landed $65 million for four of their properties in Williamsburg at 520 Wythe Avenue, 19 South 11th Street, 26 South 10th Street and 42 South 10th Street. The money came from Sterling National Bank and includes a $29 million gap mortgage and an unpaid $36 million balance from a 2016 loan.
6. Sir Edmund Tillary Hotel – $57.5 million
The Chetrit Group received a $57.5 million loan from Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies for its property at 85 Flatbush Avenue Extension, home to the Tillary Hotel and luxury rental apartments. The money was part of an $82.5 million package to refinance the property, which replaces about $40 million of construction financing from TD Bank and includes a bridge loan for three years. Chetrit has a 60 percent stake in the property, while the other 40 percent belongs to Read Property Group.
7. An American in Jamaica – $50 million
Goldman Sachs loaned United American Land $50 million for its building at 160-08 Jamaica Avenue in Queens. The building includes about 150,000 square feet of retail across four stories. H&M signed a 35,000-square-foot lease at the building in 2016, and Burlington Coat Factory signed a 70,000-square-foot lease in 2015.
8. A national landpark – $48 million
The German bank Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale, also known as Helaba, loaned Naftali Group $48 million for Landmark Park Slope at 267 6th Street. Helaba is assuming a prior mortgage on the multifamily building from TD Bank worth $44 million and adding $4 million more to the deal, according to the Commercial Observer. Naftali had purchased the property in 2012 for $10.7 million.
9. Que Zara, Zara – $40 million
Zara Realty received a $40 million loan from Sterling National Bank for its Elmhurst property at 94-25 57th Avenue. The company purchased the apartment complex from Treetop Development for $56.5 million and plans to make several renovations to the building.
10. Moore is better – $35 million
A $35 million loan from Bank of Internet to Toby Moskovits’ Heritage Equity Partners for 215 Moore Street in Brooklyn rounded out April’s top 10 list. Kushner Companies had previously loaned Heritage $33 million in 2016 for the project, a planned 75,000-square-foot development of industrial, office and retail space.