The owner secured the loan for its 429-unit, partially affordable apartment community in Midtown.
Real estate investment firm BLDG Management announced it has obtained a $289 million loan for The Summit, its 429-unit luxury apartment tower in Midtown Manhattan. The 10-year, fixed-rate Freddie Mac loan refinances the owner’s earlier $251 million construction loan from Bank of China in 2015.
A Greystone Capital Advisors debt advisory team of Drew Fletcher, Matthew Klauer and Cassandra Connolly represented BLDG in the loan transaction.
Located on E. 44th St. in Murray Hill, The Summit encompasses 441,000 square feet across 42 floors. Of the 429 units, 109 are designated affordable, including 22 units for renters earning at or below 120 percent of AMI, 44 for renters earning 60 percent of AMI, and 43 units for residents earning at or below 40 percent of AMI.
Completed in 2019, unit layouts at the building range from studio to two-bedrooms. Resident amenities include a fitness center, clubhouse, basketball and squash courts, children’s playroom, swimming pool and 250 underground parking spaces. The property also includes more than 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, according to Yardi Matrix data.
New York-based BLDG owns and manages several multifamily properties in Manhattan. Freddie Mac Production Manager Naureen Versi, who worked on the deal, said it was a “large, complex transaction” that was carefully coordinated between Freddie Mac, the New York State Housing Finance Agency, Greystone and BLDG.
MARKET STRUGGLES
Manhattan’s rental market has faced serious headwinds over the past several months as a result of the ongoing pandemic. According to Douglas Elliman’s September 2020 market report, listing inventory in Manhattan set a 14-year record, more than tripling the total from one year ago, while net effective median rent fell 11 percent, the lowest amount in more than seven years.
However, despite the struggles in the rental market, new developments are still moving forward in the five boroughs. Last month, RXR Realty topped out a 34-story apartment tower in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood that includes a mix of market-rate and affordable units. Construction kicked off last year on The Willoughby, which is located on the downtown Brooklyn campus of Long Island University and will feature 476 units once fully completed.
