Developer Lands $75M Bridge Loan for NJ Project
The loan will retire Capodagli Property Co.’s existing debt associated with a community in the New York City suburbs.
Capodagli Property Co. has secured a $75 million bridge loan from SCALE Lending, the debt financing arm of Slate Property Group, to retire existing debt on a newly built 294-unit multifamily development in Little Ferry, N.J., and complete lease-up and stabilization.
The 18-month loan for the property at 110 Bergen Turnpike has two six-month extension options. SCALE, a New York-based direct lender providing first mortgage financing secured by commercial real estate assets, has worked with the borrower, in the past. Capodagli Property Co., a family-owned New Jersey-based real estate development and management firm founded by George Capodagli, has developed more than 2,000 residential units in northern New Jersey since 2014.
SCALE previously issued a $71 million construction loan to Capodagli for the project in November 2021. Prior to the closing of the construction loan, the site was rezoned from commercial to residential. 110 Bergen Turnpike will benefit from a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, agreement, which fixes real estate taxes from 10 to 13 percent of Effective Gross Income for 30 years after completion.
The property is located in the northern portion of the Little Ferry submarket in Bergen County near Hackensack and Teaneck, N.J. 110 Bergen Turnpike is the only active development currently underway in Little Ferry. The mixed-use project includes 8,356 square feet of retail space and 294 parking spaces. Meridia Living, an affiliate of Capodagli Property Co., will handle residential leasing and property management. Silber Realty & Management Co. is marketing and leasing the commercial space.
SCALE Lending activity
With the loan for 110 Bergen Turnpike, SCALE has deployed almost $700 million in the first half of 2024. In April, SCALE provided a $150 million construction loan to the Beitel Group to build a 13-story, 450-unit multifamily project in the Bronx, N.Y. Completion of the 289,000-square-foot building at 120 E. 144th St., in the Mott Haven neighborhood is expected by mid-2025.
A month earlier, SCALE closed a $140 million loan for developer Clipper Equity to construct a 354-unit multifamily community in Brooklyn. Slated for completion in 2025’s third quarter, it is one of the last projects benefiting from New York’s expired 421a tax program.
In January, the Namdar Group secured two loans totaling $243 million from SCALE, including a $160 million construction loan for the development of a 579-unit multifamily property in Jersey City, N.J. The second was an $83 million bridge loan for a recently completed 27-story tower in the same city.
