Northwind Group Provides $70M Construction Loan on Jersey City Residential Tower
622 Summit Avenue is developer Onkar Singh’s 16th project in Jersey City since 2010
By Brian Pascus February 1, 2024 11:20 am
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Another residential tower is coming to Jersey City.
GN Management, a development firm founded by Onkar Singh, has secured a $70 million senior mortgage to complete the construction of a 29-story multifamily building in the Journal Square neighborhood of Jersey City, N.J., Commercial Observer has learned.
The building will hold 209 units and begin leasing in 2025.
Real estate private equity firm Northwind Group provided the financing through one of its closed-end debt funds, while Signature Capital Associates, led by Mohammed Hadla, arranged financing on behalf of GN Management.
Hadla praised Northwind’s work on the project, which is the 16th residential project that Singh’s development firm has built in Jersey City since GN Management began in 2010.
“The best way to describe Northwind Group is a well-oiled machine,” said Hadla in a statement. “Every division of their company is on point, extremely thorough and responsibly proactive. For what was at stake, timing for my client was extremely important.”
Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner of Northwind, told CO that the biggest challenge for his debt fund group was entering into the project mid-construction.
“When we gave the loan, they were pouring the 18th floor, now they’re up to the 24th floor,” explained Eliasaf. “When underwriting a project mid-construction, you have to understand what’s going on with the requisition and what’s going on with the general construct and subcontractor. It was a heavy lift to make sure we were comfortable due diligence-wise.”
Eliasaf added, however, that working with Singh and his family-owned development firm made what could have been a difficult decision to finance a partially completed project that much easier.
“They’re great, just great,” said Eliasaf. “This is a guy who built himself with 10 fingers, started with modest beginnings, basically as a truck driver, and started building his own company, expanding it, first through logistics, did development, and has now done 16 properties in Jersey City. So it’s great to see a self-made man who built himself with his family.”
Located at 622 Summit Avenue, the tower will feature apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units priced at workforce housing levels. The building site sits just five minutes from the PATH train station into Manhattan.
“Even from the first floor, there’s unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline, so it will fit a much-needed gap in the market for workforce, blue-collar, reasonably priced apartments,” said Eliasaf. “It’s a good solid middle-market project, and there’s such a lack of new supply, we think it’s set to do quite well.”
Brian Pascus can be reached at bpascus@commercialobserver.com
