Naftali, Access Refi Williamsburg Wharf For $374M: The N.Y. Deal Sheet
Naftali Group and Access Real Estate scored a huge refinancing for their master-planned, 3.75-acre development on the East River in Williamsburg.
Naftali, led by Miki Naftali, and Access, led by billionaire Len Blavatnik, landed $374M for Phase 1 of Williamsburg Wharf, according to a release.
Barings, MassMutual's investment arm, originated the loan for the three-tower project at 470 Kent Ave., which has 518 rental apartments as well as 89 condos and 15K SF of retail space.
Barings was already a mezzanine lender on the project, and its new senior loan will retire sums from Bank OZK, which lent the developers $238M in March 2024 and $310M in 2022, The Real Deal previously reported.
Walker & Dunlop’s Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Dustin Stolly, Sean Reimer, Ari Hirt and Stanley Cayre arranged the financing.
The condos at One Williamsburg Wharf launched sales in October 2024 and are now more than 70% sold, while the project's rental portion is more than 90% occupied.
The 363-unit, condo-only second phase is expected to be completed sometime in 2028 after netting a $525M construction loan last year from JPMorgan Chase and GoldenTree Asset Management, according to The Real Deal.
TOP FINANCING
A syndicate of Wells Fargo, Bank of America, BMO, Brookfield Capital Solutions, Citi, Deutsche Bank and Santander lent $1.9B to Brookfield Properties to refinance Two Manhattan West, a 58-story, 2M SF trophy office tower next to Hudson Yards. The 10-year loan, which has a 5.53% coupon, is one of the biggest single-asset, single-borrower transactions of the past year. The building is almost fully leased, with D.E. Shaw, KPMG and Cravath as its anchor tenants. Rents have more than doubled in the building since the first lease was signed in 2019.
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Related Cos. signed a $153.8M construction loan for the 221-unit project at 38-02 126th Lane in Willets Point, PincusCo reported. The NYC Housing Development Corp. provided the financing. The building is part of a 3,220-unit, all-affordable development from Related and Sterling Equities surrounding the upcoming NYCFC stadium.
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UBS lent $161M to Vornado Realty Trust and Aurora Capital Associates to refinance two Chelsea office buildings at 61 Ninth Ave. and 404 W. 15th St., PincusCo reported. The properties total 278K SF. The new debt replaces a $167.5M mortgage from Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg.
TOP LEASES
Global law firm Baker McKenzie signed a 122K SF renewal and expansion at Property & Building Corp.’s 10 Bryant Park tower at 452 Fifth Ave. The tenant previously occupied 105K SF, but its lease now spans 7.5 floors and includes the entire top floor of the 865K SF, 30-story tower. Other tenants in the property include Tilden Park Capital and Brighton Park Capital. JLL’s Paul Glickman, Ben Bass, Kristen Morgan and Kate Roush represented the landlord. Savills’ David Goldstein and John Mambrino represented the tenant.
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Chelsea Piers Fitness leased 76K SF across five stories at Tavros’ 250 Water St. The growing fitness brand’s lease in the Seaport neighborhood includes a 9K SF outdoor space.
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Steinberg & Pokoik inked a 24K SF lease at 575 Madison Ave. The accounting and business consulting services specialist took the entire 11th floor at Prosperity Partners' building. Newmark’s Ben Shapiro, Bill Levitsky and Nathan Kropp represented the tenant alongside Colliers’ Michael Cohen, Jessica Verdi and Rachel Kirkham. CBRE’s Gregg Rothkin, David Hollander, Bradley Auerbach, Maxwell Tarter and William Hooks acted on behalf of building ownership.
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Audible Difference leased 47K SF at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. The tenant, which specializes in precision audiovisual design and installation for fashion, theatre, contemporary art and corporate events, signed a five-year deal for the space, which is owned by the New York City Economic Development Corp.
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GFP Real Estate signed a 30K SF, two-floor deal with marketing intelligence platform Profound at 5-9 Union Square W., Commercial Observer reported. Asking rents in the 1900-built office were $75 per SF. Buchbinder & Warren Realty Group’s William Abramson and Matthew Olden represented the tenant. The landlord had in-house representation from Eric Gural and Matthew Colavita.
TOP SALES
Carmel Partners bought a 50% stake in a 710-unit Upper West Side multifamily complex from MetLife for $241M, PincusCo reported. UDR retained its 50% stake in and is the controlling partner of the five properties at 801 Amsterdam Ave. and 775, 795, 805 and 808 Columbus Ave. The portfolio was valued at $482M, based on the transaction price.
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Hennick & Co., the Toronto-based family office for the family that controls Colliers, acquired the shuttered Chambers Hotel Central Park South at 13-15 W. 56th St. for $66.2M, according to property records. BD Hotels sold the property 25 years after developing it, Crain's New York Business reported. The hotel had been operated by Sonder until the hospitality company abruptly shuttered and went bankrupt last year.
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Building Equity Management acquired 236 Bowery, a four-story property that has been home to Bari Restaurant & Pizzeria Equipment for decades, Crain’s reported. The buyer paid nearly $45M to seller Anton Mayer.
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Philip Chong sold a 103K SF SoHo office building for $36M, Crain’s reported. Chong operated a food hall, retail space and event venue at the property at 261-267 Canal St., which is now owned by a consortium of Jeremy Aidan, Ebi Khalili, Josh Rahmani, Adam Rubin and Andrew Shanfeld. The venue closed in late 2024, and the building is roughly 50% occupied. Meridian Capital Group Director Chirag Doshi represented the buyers as well as their lender, Shanghai Commercial Bank.
