Sunlight lands $99M loan for NoMad office-to-resi conversion

The conversion of a historic NoMad office building into luxury condominiums is moving ahead thanks to a large construction loan.

Yangfang Chen’s Sunlight Development and investment firm NuVerse scored $99 million for their conversion of 95 Madison Avenue. BHI, the U.S. division of Bank Hapoalim, provided the $40 million senior loan. Two other financial firms chipped in the rest of the capital, according to a spokesperson for the bank.

The developers are planning 65 condo units at the 16-story limestone building on the corner of 29th Street. A representative for Sunlight said they had not yet decided on the size of the units or pricing. The building will also have 17,000 square feet of retail and 3,400 square feet of office space. Demolition has already begun

Sunlight bought the building in June for $65 million out of bankruptcy from longtime owners the Sklar family. NuVerse provided a $50 million acquisition loan, PincusCo reported.

Half-sisters Rita Sklar and Lois Weinstein battled for years in court over property after inheriting it in 1970, according to the Commercial Observer. Sklar got control of the building after Weinstein died in 2019 and filed for bankruptcy protection two years later.

The 1912 building, known as the Emmet Building, was built as the penthouse home of prominent Manhattan gynecologist Thomas Addis Emmet. Below, the building had showrooms for commercial tenants. It was designated as a landmark in 2018.