Centennial Bank Provides $51M Construction Loan for Bronx Mixed-Use Property
By Cathy Cunningham April 2, 2020 11:00 am
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Starwood (STWD) Capital and AB Capstone have landed a $51 million construction loan for the development of 425 Westchester Avenue in the Bronx, Commercial Observer has learned.
Centennial Bank provided the debt in a deal arranged by Newmark (NMRK) Knight Frank’s Dustin Stolly, Jordan Roeschlaub, Nick Scribani, Chris Kramer and Drew Ahlers.
The 10-story, mixed-use property will be anchored by a charter school that’s operated by Zeta Charter Schools. The building sits directly opposite La Central, a 992-unit affordable housing project developed by Hudson Companies, BRP, Kretchmer, ELH, Breaking Ground and Comunilife.
The rest of the building will house office and ground-floor retail space. Starwood and AB Capstone are currently negotiating with a nonprofit organization interested in leasing the office space in its entirety.
The property is Starwood’s first opportunity zone investment, as reported by The Real Deal last year.
“Upon delivery, the property will be one of the few true Class A products in the submarket and will draw strong demand for both enrollment in the school, as well as the ground floor retail space. Furthermore, the asset is already 90 percent pre-leased and provides strong downside protection,” Stolly said in prepared remarks.
“The sponsorship did an excellent job identifying an extremely well-located project in the Bronx, which boasts strong occupancy for both office and retail properties. With a location directly adjacent to La Central, the asset will immensely benefit from the nearly one thousand units set to deliver soon,” Roeschlaub added.
Officials at Starwood Capital, Centennial Bank and AB Capstone were not immediately available for comment.
