Catal Group Closes First Loan With $20M New York Industrial Deal

When family office Catal Group launched its first debt fund in September 2024, it set out a goal of positioning the platform for activity in the the middle-market lending space

Six months later Catal has met its target, closing a $20 million construction loan for developer Ridgecut Road to build an industrial project in Montgomery, N.Y., Commercial Observer can first report.

“The flow is very strong that’s coming in the door, and in the three weeks of having conversations with potential outside investors it has been very strong. We have several term sheets out,” said Trisha Connolly Horowitz, head of real estate lending at Catal, who joined the firm just after Labor Day last year to run the new debt fund. 

Connolly Horowitz, who prior to Catal was chief operating officer of capital markets at Avison Young, said the deal — for a 146,000-square-foot logistics center in New York’s lower Hudson Valley — underscores its plan to focus heavily on the industrial sector. Connolly Horowitz said Catal should be able to distinguish itself in the market since not many debt funds are focused on speculative industrial financings in the $20 million to $30 million space.

The loan will enable Ridgecut Road to complete its I-84 Orange County Logistics Center, which it recently broke ground on and is slated to complete in late 2025. Located at 14 Moosilauke Drive 70 miles north of Manhattan, the facility will be built on 13.6 acres with 36-foot clear ceiling heights, 31 dock doors and 16 parking spaces for trailers. 

Cushman & Wakefield arranged the deal with a team consisting of T.J. Sullivan, John Alascio, Chuck Kohaut and Mitch Rothstein. 

” I-84 Orange County Logistics Center is ideally located in the path of growth in the New York metro industrial market,” Sullivan said in a statement. “Its strategic location at the intersection of Route 208 and Interstate 84 offers efficient access to the Northeast Corridor, making it an attractive option for the full spectrum of industrial users.”

Scott Shalek, principal and co-founder of Ridgecut Road, said the project is receiving plenty of leasing interest and is well situated to be a single-tenant facility. He noted that the property’s location right off Interstate 84 and near Interstate 87 provide convenient transportation access to major U.S. cities. He added the project will be delivered at a time with limited new industrial supply coming online in the region. 

“The access here is on par for distribution to the entire Northeast,” Shalek said. “There’s no other competitive supply at that 150,000-square-foot range, which makes us feel very good, and that’s why we’re excited to work through this with Catal and get this project financed so we could take off the construction and meet that unique delivery window.”

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com