Role reversal: Lending in outer boroughs smashes Manhattan

If real estate capital markets are sluggish, nobody bothered to tell Deutsche Bank. The German lender doled out nearly $500 million in June on a variety of projects including retail, new development and residential acquisitions. 

The five biggest loans in Manhattan last month raked in $498 million, about $100 million less than last June’s amount. Developers in the outer boroughs fetched $951 million across their five largest loans, far in excess of the $250 million they brought in during the same month last year.

Lenders judged a mix of projects including retail, office, residential acquisitions and new development to be credit worth last month. 

Here’s a closer look at the assets tied to the biggest loans.

A Goldman opportunity | Long Island City | $425 million

M&T Bank was the main lender of a mammoth construction loan for Lloyd Goldman’s BLDG Management to build what will be Queen’s tallest tower. The residential building will have 824 units across 69 stories — clearing the Skyline Tower by two floors — at 42-02 Orchard Street in Long Island City. Other lenders included US Bank, Bank of China, Israel Discount Bank, City National Bank and Bank Hapoalim. The Goldman family has controlled the development’s parcel since 1975. The project will qualify for the 421a tax abatement, meaning 30 percent of units will be income restricted, with an expected completion date of 2026. 

Chain gang | East New York | $163 million

Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo refinanced a 357,000-square-foot portion of Related Companies’ Gateway Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot shopping center in East New York, Brooklyn. Tenants at the properties securing the loan include Marshalls, Best Buy, Dave & Busters, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster, Old Navy, Staples, Bed Bath & Beyond and about 5,000 parking spots. The refinance follows the maturation of a 10-year CMBS loan in April and includes $2.5 million in new debt.

Skyward | Lincoln Center | $150 million

Bank OZK lent to Extell Development to build a 127-unit condo development at 36 West 66th Street, near Lincoln Center. Extell and equity partner Megalith have spent $332 million since 2014 to acquire the land and air for building, penciling to $580 for each of the building’s 570,000 square feet. The project currently has a sellout price of $1.6 billion. Last year, an appeals court allowed the project to proceed, reversing an earlier Department of Buildings decision to revoke its permits. The agency said the building’s four-story mechanical space flew afoul of regulations; local activists also opposed the project.

Bejeweled | Chelsea | $145 million

Elliot Management became the senior lender at 243 West 28th Street in Chelsea with a $145 million loan following the completion of the Ruby, a 366-unit multifamily building by Maryanne Gilmartin’s MAG Partners. The loan replaces construction debt originated by Madison Realty Capital. An apartment with two bedrooms and two bathrooms is listed at $15,000 per month. Equity partners in the project have included Atalaya, Safanad and Qualitas. Gilmartin’s firm bought the ground lease for the project from Edison Properties in 2018 for $120 million.

Triangulation | Williamsburg | $140 million

Deutsche Bank loaned Simon Dushinsky’s Rabsky Group $140 million, including $40 million in new debt, for a project to build more than 1,100 apartments on the Broadway Triangle in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Expected to span two full blocks, the development includes 63,000 square feet of retail and 405 parking spaces. The Broadway Triangle is bounded by Harrison Avenue, Walton Street, Union Avenue and Gerry Street. Environmental work at the site to remove lead-tainted soil was complicated in 2021 by a nearby subway tunnel. 

Price points | Coney Island | $120 million

Deutsche Bank loaned $120 million to Will Blodgett’s Tredway to buy the Sea Park apartment buildings in Coney Island, Brooklyn. All of the 816 apartments at 2966 and 2828 West 28th Street and 2930 West 30th Street will become affordable as tenants turn over, with 90 units reserved as supportive housing, according to Blodgett. Tredway paid $150 million. Nearly 600 of the apartments will be for households earning up to 60 percent of New York City’s annual median income: $127,000 for a family of three in 2023. About 150 apartments will go to those earning 50 percent and just under 75 units will be for households earning up to 80 percent.

Diggin’ in DoBro | $103 million

Santander Bank put $103 million behind Lonicera Partners’ 38-story residential tower coming to 55 Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The building will have 290 units across 223,000 square feet and 4,500 square feet of commercial space. Lonicera partnered with Rabina on the joint venture, City National Bank provided loans alongside Santander and the David Companies provided equity that brought construction financing to $128 million, the Commercial Observer reported. Colberg Architecture is the architect of record.

Vulture culture | Midtown | $72 million

Deutsche Bank facilitated the purchase of 529 5th Avenue, a 270,000-square-foot office building in Midtown, with a $71.5 million loan to Josh Rahmani and Ebi Khalili’s Empire Capital and retail magnate Igal Namdar’s eponymous firm. The buyers closed on the sale with Silverstein Properties for $105 million, excluding tax. In 2020, Silverstein refinanced the property for $171 million following a $20 million renovation. A year later, anchor tenant Citrin Corporation left its 130,000-square-foot space. Originally built in 1958 and designed by Emery Roth & Sons, Silverstein had owned the property since 1978.

Rental runway | Upper West Side | $68 million

Retirement savings investor Athene Annuity and Life Company loaned $68 million to Slate Property Group to buy 600 Columbus Circle, a 166-unit rental building on the Upper West Side with a mix of market rate and rent-stabilized apartments. Slate closed the deal in May with a firm connected to the developer and former politician Jerome Kretchner. A concentration of unregulated units would give Slate the runway to renovate and reprice them. A one-bed, one-bath apartment currently lists for $4,400 per month. Athene merged with Apollo Global Management in 2022. 

Offshore | Roosevelt Island | $63 million

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation refinanced 159,000 square feet of Related Companies’ 480 Main Street, a 266-unit rental building on Roosevelt Island, with $63 million. The amount includes about $2 million in new debt. The building’s remaining 38,000 square feet, on floors two through five, were bought by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2016. 

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