M&T Provides $25M on Second Phase of Connecticut Multifamily Project
The debt covers the second phase of development of the Brookview Commons rental project in downtown Danbury, Conn.
By Mack Burke April 23, 2020 9:00 am
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M&T Bank (MTB) has provided $24.5 million in construction debt to a joint venture between BRT General Corporation and DiMarco Group to help the duo complete the second phase of its planned apartment complex, Brookview Commons, in downtown Danbury, Conn., Commercial Observer has learned.
The two-year, full-recourse construction loan has two six-month extension options and pays interest at a rate of 225 basis points over 30-day LIBOR. The deal’s loan-to-cost and loan-to-value sit at 75 percent and 70 percent, respectively, which indicates that the cost of the project is around $33 million.
New York-based debt and equity advisory shop HKS Real Estate Advisors arranged the financing for the borrowers, who are co-developing the project, sources said.
“BRT and The DiMarco Group have a solid history of collaborating on other large scale multi-residential assets in the state,” HKS’s John Harrington, who sourced and arranged the loan, said in a prepared statement. “Considering the strength, reputation and the experience of the borrowers, M&T Bank was very confident in the people standing behind the project. They extended a very favorable, competitive and well-structured loan for the demolition and site prep scheduling.”
According to Harrington, the “the driving force for getting this closed was a collective decision from both M&T Bank and the developers, who were equally confident and in agreement that the project was more than sustainable during the days ahead,” despite the uncertainty on the horizon for nearly every subsector of the commercial property and commercial mortgage spaces due to COVID-19 pressures.
The 149-unit project is being erected on a 3.3-acre lot at 333 Main Street in Danbury on the site of a former Hearst Connecticut Media office building. Demolition of the previous structure began in October last year. It was once home to The News-Times, Danbury’s local news publication that’s under the umbrella of Hearst Connecticut Media. The publication eventually moved just down the road to 345 Main Street.
The development will have a fitness center, an outdoor pool on the second floor that overlooks Main Street and a walking bridge connecting Phase 2 to Phase 1 of Brookview Commons, which is a 115-unit property at 30 Crosby Street that opened in 2007. Phase 2 will comprise 18 studios, 80 one-bedroom units and 47 two-bedroom apartments. BRT received approvals for Phase 2 earlier this year.
The previous building at 333 Main Street was put on the market by Hearst Connecticut Media in 2017, not long before BRT bought it and filed the initial proposal for Brookview Commons Phase 2 that summer, according to a 2017 report from Danbury’s The News-Times.
