Before we break for the holiday, a quick update on Essex Crossing, the big development project underway on the former Seward Park urban renewal site. Commercial Observer reports that the construction consortium, Delancey Street Associates, has received more than $250 million in financing for the project from Citibank and Wells Fargo. Here are the basic details from the story:
Wells Fargo provided a $109 million construction loan for work at Site 5, a 211-unit apartment building that will consist of half market-rate and half-affordable rentals, according to the lender. The three-year construction debt covers about 75 percent of the $142 million project, which also includes 66,000 square feet of retail… The financing closed on June 30, pursuant to an escrow agreement. Wells Fargo is also buying the site’s Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for $11.5 million… Delancey Street Associates additionally closed a $144 million construction loan from Citibank with $15 million in tax-exempt bonds from the New York City Housing Development Corporation for work at Site 2, according to another person familiar with the deal. The Citibank loan covers about 55 percent of Site 2’s $264 million project cost, which includes construction of 195 rental apartments and 188,000 square feet of retail space, that person said. As with Site 5, those apartments will be split between market-rate and affordable units. Wells Fargo is buying the tax credits for $13.9 million, the company confirmed… Wells Fargo has bid and is in the process of closing a deal to finance construction and buy the Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for Site 6, they said. That deal includes $42 million in debt and $26.5 million of equity from the tax credits. Those units will be allocated for senior housing.
Demolition and pre-construction on sites 1, 2 and 5 began several weeks ago, but the developers were waiting for financing to be in place before going full throttle on the first phase of the project, which is expected to be completed in about three years.
