Slate Property Group Nabs $90M Construction Loan for Queens Mixed-Use Project
By Cathy Cunningham May 20, 2021 10:55 am
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Slate Property Group has landed $90 million in construction financing for its new mixed-use project at 69-65 Yellowstone Boulevard in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens, Commercial Observer has learned.
Pacific Western Bank provided the senior debt, while Heitman provided mezzanine financing in the deal. Newmark’s co-heads of New York Debt & Structured Finance, Dustin Stolly and Jordan Roeschlaub, negotiated the deal along with Daniel Fromm and Dan Morin.
The transit-oriented, Aufgang Architects-designed development comprises 166 multifamily units — 50 of which are affordable — and 50,000 square feet of retail. In addition to featuring private terraces on each floor, the third-floor and rooftop common areas will provide building residents with landscaped outdoor space. The building also includes 186 parking spaces.
“Our team was able to manage through the volatile marketplace and identify the optimal solution for a great sponsor.” Stolly said. “Executing this transaction with nimble and reliable debt partners like PacWest and Heitman was imperative to the success of this transaction.”
The 11-story building will rise on the site of a former Key Food supermarket at the intersection of Yellowstone Boulevard and Queens Boulevard. Its new retail space is already fully leased to an unnamed national grocer tenant and bank.
The Slate team broke ground on the project last month, and its completion is “slated” for 2023.
“Slate Property Group is committed to supporting our city’s recovery and tackling the housing shortage,” David Schwartz, co-founder and principal of Slate Property Group, said in a statement to the Forest Hills Post at the time of the groundbreaking. “Through mixed-use projects such as this, we are able to create new jobs, bring resources to the community and keep New York moving forward. We are proud to break ground on The Yellowstone today.”
In addition to being an active owner, operator and developer of residential and commercial real estate, Slate’s lending arm, SCALE Lending, has kept busy throughout the pandemic. In March, it provided a $120 million construction loan to Namdar Group for a multifamily project in Jersey City, N.J., and a $30 million mezzanine loan to reposition the former Cecil Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles into multifamily and boutique hotel use.
“We are thrilled to represent Slate [Property Group] in another successful transaction,” Roeschlaub said of the Yellowstone financing. “As one of the most active developers and operators in an around the NYC metro, Slate’s track record of proven experience positions them as an attractive partner to both existing and new lending relationships.”
