● COZEN O’CONNOR
Ozone Park factory plan on the table
Lawyers from Cozen O’Connor helped steer the acquisition and financing of a new Ozone Park manufacturing facility redevelopment project.
Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center Local Development Corporation (GMDC) acquired the site at 94-15 100 Street with a plan to redevelop the 85,000 s/f facility to accommodate up to 24 businesses and 80 skilled workers.
The cost of the development ois an estimated $40 million, according to Cozen O’Connor.
The project was financed through several incentive programs, including New Markets Tax Credit financing, Historic Tax Credit financing, grant funds from New York City’s Economic Development Corporation, grant funds from the State of New York, Industrial Development Agency tax benefits through a PILOT program, and bridge financing through the New York City Partnership Foundation. Additional bridge financing was secured from Sterling Bank.
Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center Local Development Corporation is a nonprofit developer focused on providing stable, long-term leases at below market rent to manufacturers in an effort to help companies maintain their business in New York City.
The Ozone Park manufacturing facility is the eighth such facility that GMDC has rehabilitated in the city since 1992.
Representing GMDC from Cozen O’Connor were real estate attorneys William F. Davis, Lindsay A. Miller, and Daniel Levin, and labor and employment attorney John S. Ho.
The lending group was represented by Dentons US LLP, Miles & Stockbridge P.C., Leverage Law Group, LLC, Nixon Peabody LLP, Katten Muchin Rosenmann LLP, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, and King & Spalding LLP.
● MERIDIAN INVESTMENT SALES
Kamber closes on $50M garage buy
Family-owned Kamber Management has closed on its $50 million purchase of five Upper West Side garage condominium units.
Meridian Investment Sales, the commercial property sales division of Meridian Capital Group, sold the condos totaling 913 parking spaces located in five luxury condominium buildings at 80, 100, 120, 220 and 240 Riverside Boulevard.
Senior executive managing director David Schechtman, managing director Lipa Liberman and managing director Abie Kassin represented the seller, 80-20 LLC, a family trust, and also procured the buyer.
“The desirability of these assets is driven by the long-term lease to Icon Parking, a leading operator in New York City,” said Schechtman.
“The investor was drawn to the ability to acquire a significant block of parking garage spaces across these five ultra-luxury condominium buildings.”
The garages are located across five luxury condominium buildings at the cultural epicenter of the Upper West Side where locals and visitors can enjoy parks, restaurants and cultural institutions including the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera, the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, and the American Folk Art Museum.
● CIGNATURE REALTY ASSOCIATES
Washington Heights building trades for $13M
Cignature Realty Associates has closed the $13.25 million sale of a six-story corner multi-family elevator building with 54 apartments in Washington Heights.
The 41,736 s/f building at 221 Wadsworth Avenue was built in 1928. It sold for 17.4 times the current annual rent roll, at a cap rate of 3.22 percent.
Cignature’s Peter Vanderpool and Lazer Sternhell represented both the buyer and the seller.
According to public records, the buyer was Chris DeAngelisʼ TriArch Real Estate Group, a real estate investment company based in Manhattan.
● NAI CHARLESTON
LRC continues to bulk up East Coast portfolio
New York-based LRC Properties has purchased a 1,056,000 s/f industrial complex in SOuth Carolina for $42 million.
Leeds Park is a mixed use complex offering office, manufacturing and flex space on 72 acres. The property has a water treatment plant, air compressors, large electrical capacity, conditioned space, and over 1,200 parking spaces.
It is 75 percent occupied with major tenants including MAHLE, American Axle & Manufacturing, Cummins, the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, and Limestone College.
LRC plans to invest $15 million in infrastructure and aesthetic improvements. Plans include renovating 40,000 to 50,000 s/f of office space to Class A standards and another 150,000 s/f of industrial space.
Other potential amenities that are under consideration include collaborative space, conference rooms, a business center, a gym, and improved food options. LRC is still working on its overall interior and exterior plan but work is expected to begin sometime in 2018.
The NAI Charleston team of Dexter Rumsey and Shep Benjamin along with LRC’s NAI relationship advisor Andie Edmonds, CCIM, put together the offmarket deal for LRC Properties. Amherst Capital Management in New York provided debt financing for the purchase and future renovations.
The deal brings LRC’s ownership on the East Coast to 7.5 million square feet of commercial properties.
Howard Lavitt, principal and co-founder of LRC Properties, said, “We plan to reposition the property and harness its potential by investing in both infrastructure and cosmetic improvements that will make it first class and highly desirable for companies looking for office, flex, and manufacturing space.
“LRC is also continuing to seek additional investment opportunities in Charleston and the Southeast, spearheaded by Darren Hirsch who heads up the Carolinas acquisition team for LRC.”
