Equicap Negotiates Quick Close on Bowery Site

New York—New York City-based boutique brokerage firm Equicap has arranged financing for the $10 million acquisition of a 3,600-square-foot development site in the Bowery neighborhood in south central Manhattan. The loan amount was $6.5 million.  The process began in late October, and the transaction closed with 30 days.

“Our client is essentially purchasing a site that is currently occupied by a vacant retail space,” Daniel Hilpert, Equicap managing director, told MHN.

“This is a client based in New York City who syndicated the financing from many, many investors, both here in the U.S. and in Israel,” he said. “That made it really complicated, with many investors and foreign investors involved. The timeline was challenging due to the fact that a Time is Of the Essence (TOE) notice was submitted, giving the buyer notice they had 30 days to close, and if the buyer couldn’t close would forfeit the right to the contract and lose the deposit.”

When the close is in 30 days, everything needs to work like clockwork, Hilpert said. That includes assembling appraisals, environmental reports and closing items like survey and title. In addition, the different partners coming in to the transaction through different LLCs must be given the organizational documents. “There are also searches and due diligence that need to be collected on any partner with more than 20 percent ownership interest in the property,” Hilpert said. “The question is how well does the broker really coordinate all the deliverables and keep track of all the critical tasks?”

Plans for the site call for development of a luxury condominium. The building’s five very large residences are expected to start at $6 million, Hilpert said.

“We had a previous relationship with this developer,” he added. “[It was] a track record of previous acquisition and construction loans . . . The site is a prime piece of real estate, with the Bowery being close to SoHo. [It is] a very exciting project, with a very capable and experienced developer, and we’re honored he’s coming to us.”