Dealmaker: Greystone Bassuk Arranges $218M for New York Rental Tower

Greystone Bassuk, New York, closed a $217.5 million loan to refinance The Ashland, a 53-story multifamily rental apartment building in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, McLean, Va., originated the loan for an affiliate of The Gotham Organization, New York, and securitized it through the Fannie Mae Multifamily mortgage-backed securities program.

Greystone Bassuk CEO Richard Bassuk and President Drew Fletcher advised The Gotham Organization on the transaction.

The Wall Street Journal reported the New York City Housing Development Corp. and a syndicate of banks led by Wells Fargo provided the property’s original financing.

The 586-unit mixed-income apartment building at 250 Ashland Place occupies the intersection of Ashland Place and Fulton Street in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Cultural District. The 53-story project also includes 11,500 square feet of office space and 17,000 square feet of retail occupied by Gotham Market’s eight dining and drinking venues and a rotating pop-up space. Nearly half of the units are permanently set aside for low- and moderate-income households.

Greystone Bassuk also arranged a $103 million construction loan for 572 West 11th Avenue, a multifamily asset under construction by The Moinian Group, New York.

Bassuk and Fletcher secured the financing from the Bank of China’s New York branch. The loan was structured as a letter of credit enhancing taxable variable-rate bonds issued by The New York State Housing Finance Agency.

The project was originally slated to receive tax-exempt bond financing and tax credits under the former Housing Finance Agency “80/20” program, but Moinian had to pivot and close under a 100 percent taxable execution when the agency unexpectedly changed its funding policy in June. The new program still provides a full mortgage recording tax exemption, which preserves a valuable benefit for the borrower.

The property is diagonally across the street from Sky Residences, The Moinian Group’s 1,175-unit rental development at 605 West 42nd Street. Once complete, the 13-story property will include 185,000 gross square feet with 164 units and more than 25,000 square feet of street-level and below-grade retail. In addition, one-quarter of rental units will be reserved for low- and moderate-income households under the city’s new 421-a Inclusionary Housing Program.