Beitel Group Gets $305M Construction Loan for Bronx Project
The project adds to the developer's growing footprint in the borough’s Mott Haven neighborhood.
Armed with a $305 million construction loan from SCALE Lending, the debt financing arm of Slate Property Group, the Beitel Group is returning to the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, N.Y., for its latest mixed-use development. The firm plans to go vertical on two towers totaling 755 rental units located at 355 Exterior St. Landstone Capital Group arranged the 18-month whole-term loan with two six-month extension options.
Led by Ben Beitel, the Beitel Group will develop connected 40-story and 26-story residential towers totaling 515,000 square feet. The firm demolished the existing buildings and completed excavation work after entering a contract to purchase the site in October 2024 from an affiliate of Lightstone Group, which acquired the property in 2019 for $28.3 million, according to The Real Deal. The amount that the Beitel Group paid for the site was not disclosed.
Prestige Construction NY is the general contractor for the project, which is expected to be completed in June 2026. The development has been vested into the 421a program, the New York City affordable housing tax abatement. Although the popular tax abatement expired in June 2022, the state legislature agreed to last year extend the deadline for completing vesting projects from 2026 through June 2031. To receive the tax abatement, at least 25 percent of the units of a given development must be affordable.
Project highlights
The buildings at 355 Exterior St. will contain a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom apartments. Amenities at the project will include an outdoor pool and terrace, a gym with a sauna and steam room, pickleball court, golf simulator, coworking area, party room and children’s room.
The development will also have 11,500 square feet of retail space and nearly 200 parking spaces.
Located along the Harlem River, residents at 355 Exterior will have unobstructed views of Upper Manhattan and the property is a short walk from the 149th Street Grand Concourse Subway station.
Growing submarket, busy team
Martin Nussbaum, co-founder and principal at Slate Property Group, noted in prepared remarks the Mott Haven submarket has seen tremendous growth over the last five years. SCALE Lending has teamed up with the Beitel Group for several other residential assets in the Mott Haven neighborhood.
In September, the company secured a $135 million construction loan from SCALE Lending for the development of two adjacent 14-story multifamily buildings totaling 405 units at 261 Grand Concourse and 315 Grand Concourse, also in Mott Haven. Landstone Capital was also part of this deal, arranging the 24-month whole-term loan that includes two six-month extension options, and Prestige Construction NY is the general contractor. Completion is slated for November.
In April 2024, SCALE Lending provided a $150 million construction loan to the Beitel Group for a 450-unit multifamily project at 120 E. 144th St., also in the Mott Haven neighborhood. The project, which features a 13-story, 289,000-square-foot building, is slated for completion this year.
SCALE’s strong lending activity
Including the new loan for Beitel Group’s 355 Exterior St. project in Mott Haven, SCALE Lending has announced more than $1 billion in closings for the past year.
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Other recent financings include $166 million for a four-building, 367-unit community in Brooklyn at 280 Bergen St., $105 million for a 346-unit project in Miami at Metro Parc South, and $79 million for the Bath & Racquet Residences in Sarasota, Fla.
