Clipper Equity Refinances Greenpoint Apartments For $450M
The developer of a 766-unit Brooklyn multifamily property is cashing out more than $16M of equity with a massive new CMBS loan.
Clipper Equity has lined up a $405M, five-year, fixed-rate mortgage as well as $45M of mezzanine debt for Tower 77, a three-building complex next to the Greenpoint waterfront, according to a presale report from Fitch Ratings.
JPMorgan Chase and Citi Real Estate Funding are co-originating the new loan, which replaces a previous $430M sum from JPMorgan that was provided in May 2024. The deal for the new debt is expected to close Dec. 23, according to Fitch.
The financing will send $16.2M of cash equity to the developer, plus $3.75M toward closing costs and roughly $1.8M reserved for items including tenant improvements and leasing costs.
Clipper finished building the 77 Commercial St. tower, which has amenities including a sauna and an indoor swimming pool, in 2023. The property also has a 421-a tax abatement, with rents for 230 units restricted as affordable for those making 130% of the area median income until 2059.
The building’s market-rate units, renting at $4,785 a month, are 91% leased, according to Fitch, while the affordable units rent for just shy of $2,300 a month and are 97.8% leased.
Clipper also signed a private preschool, the Goddard School, to 10K SF of its total 25K SF ground-floor retail space this spring.
Officials from Clipper Equity didn't immediately respond to Bisnow's request for comment. Clipper founder David Bistricer told Commercial Observer that JPMorgan amended its bridge loan into a permanent loan after the building was brought to stabilization.
The building was developed after landing a $386M construction loan from Bank of China and SL Green in May 2020.
Clipper's new CMBS debt will be securitized as YC Commercial Mortgage Trust 2025-77C, a single-asset, single-borrower loan, the type of deal that has led a massive resurgence in securitized lending this year. There was more than $92B of CMBS debt issued in the first nine months of 2025, according to Trepp, putting it on track for the most active year since 2007.
Wall Street's interest in debt tied to major NYC properties comes despite record-high delinquency rates of legacy CMBS office loans across the country.
