Madison Realty Capital Upsizes Jersey City Multifamily Loan by $167M to Total $395M Commitment
By Andrew Coen November 14, 2022 1:50 pm
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Madison Realty Capital has provided an additional $167 million in construction financing to the developers of a four-building multifamily development in Jersey City, N.J., three years after supplying a $168 million debt package for the project’s first phase, Commercial Observer has learned.
Manhattan Building Company, which is developing the 1,089-unit Emerson Lofts project, will use the amended loan to fund the conversion of an existing warehouse building into a 140-unit apartment property and construct a 338-unit multifamily high-rise. This marks the second upsize by Madison for the multiphase development and brings its total financing for the project up to $395 million.
“The rapid lease-up of Hudson House in phase one demonstrates that Jersey City is experiencing strong demand for modern residential options along the waterfront, which increasingly attracts financial institutions, advertising, technology, media and new businesses that are enriching the area’s population,” Josh Zegen, managing principal and co-founder of Madison Realty Capital, said in a statement. “Delivering the next phase of flexible financing for a repeat borrower with extensive experience developing institutional-quality real estate in New Jersey represents our unique ability to work closely with our borrowers and finance projects through every stage of acquisition, development, and leasing.”
Zegen said during Commercial Observer’s seventh annual Fall Financing CRE Forum New York held last Thursday at the St. Regis Hotel that a strong lease-up of the project so far was an attractive component of the deal, coupled with how hot the Jersey City multifamily market is. He said apartment demand in New Jersey’s second-largest city will increase even more in the next few years due to the expiration of New York City’s 421a affordable housing tax-exemption program.
Located at 315-326 15th Street, the Emerson Lofts development site will consist of three 26-story high-rise residential buildings and one converted warehouse. The first phase of the project, Hudson House, is 95 percent leased to date. It features 351 studio to three-bedroom units along with 10,000 square feet of retail and 308 parking spaces. The development’s amenities include a heated outdoor pool, cabanas, an outdoor movie theater, a fitness center, a yoga room and concierge services.
Phase two of Emerson Lofts, which is currently under construction, will feature a 338-unit tower with 119 parking spaces. The third phase, which is nearing completion, will convert an existing warehouse into a 140-unit multifamily property with 96 parking spaces and 36,500 square feet of retail space. The third and final high-rise property is in the pre-development phase of construction.
Officials at Manhattan Building Company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.
