The Durst Organization landed a nine-figure refinancing for its completed building at 10 Halletts Point, but the future of the rest of the gigantic project remains murky.
The Commercial Observer reported Durst landed a $127.5 million, five-year loan from Signature Bank at the multifamily complex in Astoria, Queens.
Signature managing group director Joseph Fingerman led the transaction for the bank, according to the Observer. Meridian Capital Group’s Ronnie Levine helped arrange the financing.
The 405-unit 10 Halletts Point is part of Durst’s larger Halletts Point project, which is expected to yield 2,100 housing units across 2.4 million square feet, along with a public waterfront esplanade and retail space. The project was deemed to be essential construction during the early weeks of the pandemic, allowing work to continue.
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According to Apartments.com, monthly rents in the 22-story building range from $2.464 to $5,862. The website lists eight available units.
Amenities for 10 Halletts Point include a fitness center, yoga studio, library, children’s playroom and barbeque area. Supermarket Brooklyn’s Harvest Market takes up 25,000 square feet of the property’s base.
The Halletts Point development has been the subject of a feud between Durst and Mayor Bill de Blasio. In January 2020, Durst put the development on hold after the city refused to provide the subsidy he wanted for its affordable units.
The two sides clashed over both the city’s contribution and the affordability requirements for the complex; Durst claimed the project would not be financially feasible if more affordable housing units were included than planned.
In 2015, New York City promised a $21.6 million subsidy to offset infrastructure costs, but a state tax abatement program was changed, throwing a wrench into the project’s economics. Durst proposed an alternative financing solution without additional affordable units, causing the de Blasio administration to balk.
At the time, the firm said it would wait until the following administration to pursue the project, a change now just four days away. A spokesperson for the Durst Organization said Halletts 7 is almost complete and will open next year, and that site work at Halletts 20 and 30 has begun.
One thing the administration did that benefited the project was link East 90th Street in Manhattan to Astoria via ferry, providing a four-minute connection. Durst had advocated strongly for the change.
[CO] — Holden Walter-Warner