Barings, Pacific Western Close $63M Loan for Brooklyn Church Conversion
By Cathy Cunningham February 19, 2021 11:04 am
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The redevelopment of a former religious structure into a luxury apartment complex is off to the races with the closing of some redevelopment financing.
Barings and Pacific Western Bank have teamed up to provide a $63 million loan for the landmark conversion of 800 Willoughby Avenue, a historic, 121,000-square-foot church in Brooklyn’s Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood, that will shortly be transformed into a 204-unit residential building.
Newmark (NMRK) Capital Markets’ Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub, co-heads of debt and structured finance, negotiated the debt on behalf of the borrowers, along with Daniel Fromm, Nick Scribani and Chris Kramer.
“This project checks all the boxes: top-tier sponsorship with deep development experience, a marquee site and exceptional construction quality, all of which reassured lenders during an otherwise volatile market environment,” Stolly said.
Once owned by St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church and part of a Catholic university, the project is being redeveloped by a joint venture between Property Resource Corp. and Avenue Realty Capital.
The 130-year old edifice sits two blocks from the Bushwick neighborhood and in close proximity to the Myrtle-Broadway subway stop. When its renovation is completed, the property will feature a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Its amenity package is set to include a 1,400-square-foot gym, a courtyard with reflecting pool, an indoor/outdoor tenant lounge, a business center, a pet spa, bicycle parking, a two-level garage and tenant storage.
“Brooklyn’s apartment market is one of the fast growing and best performing in New York City, given its superior transportation accessibility and neighborhood amenities,” Roeschlaub said.
