US construction lender S3 Capital has provided Grand Cru Real Estate (GCRE) and Visabe Corp with a $52.5m (€46.8m) loan for the ground-up development of 1527 York Avenue, a 28-unit residential condominium project.
The financing, which closed alongside the sponsors’ acquisition of the site this month, will fund the construction of a 20-storey tower on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The transaction marks S3 Capital’s second deal with the joint venture team, following its previous financing of the sponsors’ development at 439 East 77th Street.
Steven Jemal, senior managing director of origination at S3 Capital, said: “We know GCRE well from 439 East 77th Street, so we were comfortable with the team and the submarket from the start.
“They needed a lender who could close alongside their acquisition, and we were able to do that. Repeat sponsors like this are how our origination business grows, and we’re building the same kind of relationships with developers in markets across the country.”
Shawn Safdie, head of origination at S3 Capital, said: “Upper East Side condo buyers are a specific audience, and a 28-unit building with layouts up to five bedrooms is aimed squarely at them.
“GCRE understands that buyer, and their successful execution on a recent project gave us the confidence to partner with them again. Repeat sponsorship remains one of the strongest signals we look for, particularly in today’s environment, and this opportunity checked all the right boxes.”
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