Dealmaker: Newmark Knight Frank Arranges $295M Construction Loan

Newmark Knight Frank, New York, arranged a $295 million construction loan for The Laurel in Center City Philadelphia.

The Laurel will be a 48-story residential condominium building with rental apartments and retail on Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square when complete.

Mack Real Estate, New York, provided the floating-rate loan to project sponsor Southern Land Co., Nashville, Tenn.

NKF Vice Chairmen Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub led the debt placement team, which included Managing Directors Nick Scribani and Chris Kramer.

The fully entitled project at 1911 Walnut Street will occupy the last developable site along Rittenhouse Square and will be Philadelphia’s tallest residential building. It will include 54 residential condominium units, 235 rental apartments and 44,600 square feet of retail space fronting Walnut, Sansom and 20th Streets. Total square footage will equal 421,000 square feet.

Southern Land Co. acquired the land in 2015 and broke ground last month. The firm worked with historical preservation groups to build support for the project plan, which includes preserving the adjoining Warwick Apartments and Rittenhouse Coffee Shop. Those two historic buildings, both vacant, will be preserved and repositioned.

Nearly a quarter of residential units have been pre-sold, starting at $2.5 million. Residential unit deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2021.