Manhattan-based Northwind Group on Tuesday said it provided a $22 million first-position mortgage loan secured by 303 Washington St., a 10-story, 92-unit multifamily apartment building located in downtown Newark.
The property is undergoing the adaptive reuse from a five-story office building into a modern rental apartment building. Once complete, the property will feature a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, as well as modern luxury amenities and a 360-degree rooftop deck.
The developer is a joint venture between Albert Nigri of Summit Assets and Avi Benamu and Jack Hazan of Winchester Equities, who collectively have extensive experience developing adaptive reuse projects in downtown Newark and the greater New York area.
Northwind Group provided the loan through its closed-end debt funds with competitive terms, which will provide the owner with the required capital to complete the construction and lease the property to stabilization.
Northwind Group’s real estate debt funds are focused on lending on residential assets with a focus on condo inventory and completion to stabilization multifamily projects in the New York City metro area and other major gateway cities across the U.S. During the last 12 months, Northwind Group closed on loans totaling over $1.1 billion across the U.S.
“Northwind’s financing was a critical step for the completion of 303 Washington, as they were able to provide a loan with flexible terms and close in a short period of time. The process was handled with the utmost professionalism, and we were impressed by the diligence and swiftness of their team as we hope to continue working with them in the future,” Nigri said.
“We are pleased to be able to provide this Loan, as we are continuing to see a big gap in the market for financing as commercial banks have slowed down their lending activities due to regulatory and macro-level factors,” Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner of Northwind Group, said.
The financing for the transaction was arranged by Zach Mordechai and Ben Frances of MSCO Capital Advisors LLC. Northwind was represented by John Vavas of Polsinelli Law Firm.
