Dollar volume for the 10 largest outer-borough commercial real estate loans in May was $1.6 billion, almost double that of a year ago as well as the April total.
But it is too early to tell if the spike is a sign of recovery: The volume was much higher in March at $1.96 billion. And these are just the 10 fattest loans, not the whole universe of loans.
Two loans cracked the $100 million mark, both for Brooklyn development projects. Four of the 10 were in Brooklyn, four were in Queens and one was in the Bronx. One loan was for properties in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
Here’s the complete list:
1) Greenpoint resi tower | Brooklyn | $188.4 million
Brookfield Properties secured this construction loan to build a 31-story, 413-unit residential building on two sites on Commercial Street in Greenpoint. The lender was Otera Capital of Montreal. The building is one of 11 residential towers planned for the Greenpoint Landing waterfront development. The Greenpoint Landing master plan calls for 5,500 units, of which 1,400 will be income-restricted.
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2) DoBro office building | Brooklyn | $181 million
Savanna landed this construction loan for a project to build a 24-story, 310,000-square-foot office building on a triangular-shaped site consisting of three lots — at 270 Flatbush Avenue Extension, also known as 141 Willoughby Street; and 383 and 385 Gold Street. The lender was Pimco. Savanna acquired the Downtown Brooklyn site from the Institute of Design and Construction for $28 million in 2014, and originally planned to build a mixed-use building with 270 apartments. But the real estate investment firm changed the plan to just offices.
3) LIC residential refi | Queens | $70 million
Solomon Feder landed this refi loan for its nine-story, 158-unit apartment building at 45-57 Davis Street in Long Island City. The lender was Shelter Growth Capital Partners based in Stamford, Connecticut. About 30 percent of the units in the building will be set aside as affordable housing for households at 130 percent of the area median income — from $73,920 to $183,300, depending on the size of family.
4) Another resi in LIC | Queens | $64.23 million
Ascent Development secured this construction loan to raise a 24-story, 92-unit residential building on an eight-parcel assemblage at 45-31 Davis Street in Long Island City. The lender was Preferred Bank. The mid-block assemblage has frontages facing Davis and Pearson streets and is a stone’s throw from the Wolkoff Group’s 5Pointz LIC development.
5) More resi in LIC | Queens | $55 million
SB Development landed this construction loan from Scale Property Group to erect a 23-story, 86-unit mixed-use building at 41-05 29th Street in Long Island City. In 2018, the developer told The Real Deal that the residential units would be condominiums. The building will have 5,700 square feet of commercial space, according to the plans filed with the city.
6) Riverdale co-op refi | Bronx | $48 million
Whitehall Tenants Corp. secured this refinancing from Santander Bank. The Whitehall co-op, at 333 Henry Hudson Parkway in Riverdale, features 439 units with one to three bedrooms, according to Streeteasy.
7) Industrial play | Queens | $39.05 million
South Florida–based logistics investor Elion Partners took out this loan to finance its $58.1 million acquisition of a 180,000-square-foot warehouse at 182-20 Liberty Avenue in Jamaica. The lender was FS Investments. The sellers were private families that ran wholesaling businesses out of the building.
8) Self-storage play | Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens | $38 million
Matthew Sprayregen took out this loan backed by storage facilities at 1041-1045 Webster Avenue, 1112-1128 Brook Avenue, 359 Wales Avenue, and 2165 and 2181 Jerome Avenue in the Bronx; 160 John Street in Brooklyn; and 37-19 Crescent Street in Queens. The seven properties have 312,509 square feet of built space, according to PincusCo.
9) St. Mary’s residential | Brooklyn | $35.7 million
Quinlan Development Group landed this construction loan for a project to build a 17-story multifamily development on a parcel at 230 Classon Avenue in Clinton Hill owned by St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. The lender was CIT Bank. The structure will house 138 one- and two-bedroom rentals, according to YIMBY.
10) Senior housing to rise | Brooklyn | $30.1 million
Impact Brooklyn, formerly known as the Pratt Area Community Council, secured this construction loan for a project to build a four-story, 63-unit senior housing development at 811 Lexington Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant. TD Bank was the lender. The project is in collaboration with the owner of the property, Northeastern Conference of Seventh Day Adventists. The units will be available for low-income seniors receiving rental subsidies, according to Impact Brooklyn’s website.