Acore Capital Provides $72M Refi for Newly Converted Multifamily Building in Bed-Stuy
The historic property was built in 1870 as St. John's College, and is now being repositioned for its next chapter.
By Cathy Cunningham November 14, 2024 5:26 pm
reprints
Property Resources Corporation (PRC) just landed a $72.2 million loan for The Hartby, the firm’s new luxury rental building in Brooklyn, Commercial Observer can first report.
Acore Capital provided the whole loan for the deal. Eric Ramirez, Acore’s co-head of Eastern region originations, led the transaction on behalf of the lender, while Ackman-Ziff negotiated the debt.
The building, at 788 Willoughby Avenue in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, was previously home to St. John’s College before undergoing a restoration and conversion into a 205-unit luxury residential rental building. In August, an affordable housing lottery opened for 62 of the property’s units, made available to residents earning 130 percent of the area median income, New York YIMBY reported.
Matthew Linde and Benjamin Linde’s PRC restored the building’s architectural elements and added tenant lounges, a 1,400-square-foot fitness center and a 5,000-square-foot roof deck.The adaptive reuse project was designed by Woods Bagot, with Alchemy Studio behind the unit’s interiors.
“We’re grateful to our financial partners who see the value in what we’re creating at The Hartby,” Matthew Linde, Principal and CEO of PRC, told CO. “We believe the project will turn out to be one of the most unique and stunning residential conversions of a historic property in all of New York City. This round of funding will enable us to bring this project to the finish line and launch the lease-up by the end of the year. Amid the current environment where housing shortages abound, PRC prides itself on creating housing opportunities for all. We are extremely proud of what The Hartby will contribute to the surrounding community.”
Acore’s financing acts as a construction takeout loan with some proceeds also going toward finishing the repositioning work.
“We continue to see fantastic opportunities to lend on well-located, high-quality assets for extremely strong operators such as PRC and are excited to be a part of this transaction given the competitive landscape for deals of this quality,” Ramirez told CO. “The unique, historic architecture of The Hartby really differentiates this product from its competitive set, and we look forward to seeing its success.”
Built by the Catholic Church, the first wing of St. John’s College opened in 1870 with additional buildings being erected by 1872 around the campus’ central courtyard, according to Brownstoner. The college moved to Queens in the 1950s, and now the building is entering into an exciting new chapter of its history.
Ackman-Ziff declined to comment.
Cathy Cunningham can be reached at ccunningham@commercialobserver.com
