Greystone Provides $133M Loan for NYC Asset

Staten Island Urby

Greystone has originated a $132.9 million Fannie Mae loan for Ironstate Development’s Staten Island Urby. The community, which offers 571 LEED-certified units across two buildings, is an “80-20” mixed-income property situated on the Staten Island waterfront in New York City.

The Greystone Bassuk Capital Markets Advisory Group led by President Drew Fletcher included Executive Managing Director Ken Rogozinski, Managing Director Matt Klauer, and Associate Bryan Grover.

The group served as exclusive advisor on behalf of Urby and secured the Fannie Mae loan through Greystone’s Affordable Lending Team. Billy Posey, head of Greystone’s Lending Business, and Jeff Englund, senior managing director, collaborated on the structure for the borrower and spearheaded the loan process for Greystone’s debt business.

The new 10-year fixed rate permanent loan replaces the original $100 million construction credit facility provided by PNC Bank in 2013 for the first phase of the project.

The community is located at 7 and 8 Navy Pier Court—on a 3.9-acre waterfront parcel between Prospect and Wave Streets on Front Street’s east side—and features one four-story and one five-story building that collectively offer approximately 292,370 net rental square feet. Also featured are extensive amenity space and 36,000 square feet of retail. About one-fifth, or 115 of the total units, are affordable units priced at 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI). All the remaining apartments feature market rent pricing.

Redefined Standards for Big City Rental Housing

Staten Island Urby’s amenities include a 5,100-square-foot gym, outdoor salt water pool, landscaped courtyards with fire pits and play areas, Wi-Fi-enabled green spaces, filtered water filling stations in lobbies and an on-site 300-vehicle parking garage. A demonstration kitchen called Urby Kitchen hosts cooking demos from local chefs, pop-up dinners, tastings and talks. Also offered is one of the city’s largest urban farms.

In addition, the property features 35,000 square feet of commercial space featuring direct waterfront views. Among entities occupying the space is Staten Island’s first Mediterranean-style seafood restaurant, Barca; a 200-seat dual-level space focused on wood-fire cooking called Rallo’s Surf; Seppe Pizza Bar; and a lobby café operated by boutique New Jersey-based coffee roaster Coperaco.

“Urby has created a fresh new take on urban apartment living with hospitality-level services, curated amenity spaces and efficient, modern-design apartments at affordable prices,” said Fletcher, in prepared remarks. “We are incredibly excited to have represented Urby on this project as they continue their push to redefine the standards for big city rental housing.”

Completed in 2016, the community is part of an urban living concept created by Ironstate Development President David Barry.

Harrison Urby, a 409-unit community in Harrison, N.J.—the third in the series of Urby developments—was launched in the summer of 2017. A few months later, Ironstate Development broke ground on Stamford Urby, an 11-building, 650-unit community in Stamford, Conn.

Image courtesy of Greystone