MAG Partners Secures $149M Refi for the Mabel in Chelsea

MaryAnne Gilmartin’s MAG Partners, in partnership with investment company Safanad, has closed on a $148.7 million bridge loan from Goldman Sachs Alternatives to refinance a construction loan for the Mabel, MAG’s new residential building in Chelsea, Commercial Observer has learned. 

Designed by CookFox and located at 335 Eighth Avenue, the Mabel is a 188-unit, mixed-income building featuring 25,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor amenities, including coworking space, workout areas, an outdoor lounge and a media lounge. 

Less than one year after construction finished on the building at the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 26th Street, the property is now almost 100 percent leased. The development also features a 23,000-square-foot ground-floor grocery store space, which has been leased to Lidl and is expected to open this fall. 

The loan was arranged by Jillian Mariutti, Geoff Goldstein, Stephen Van Leer and Rob Hinckley from JLL.

“In today’s market, lenders are being far more selective, so getting a deal like this done really comes down to the fundamentals,” Mariutti told CO. “Mabel has a lot working in its favor including strong leasing out of the gate, a high-quality mixed-income program, and a sponsor with a clear track record of execution. That combination gave lenders real confidence. We were able to structure financing that made sense for where the market is today.”

Jeff Rosen, managing principal and chief investment officer at MAG, handled things in-house for the landlord. 

“The Mabel refinance is a strong validation of both the asset and our broader multifamily strategy,” Rosen told CO. “We delivered a high-quality luxury product, and the lease-up has significantly exceeded expectations, achieving over 95 percent occupancy at market rents in record time and ahead of pro forma pricing. The highly competitive refinancing process further underscores the quality of the sponsorship and the asset itself. This is another proof point for the strength of the MAG Partners platform and our ability to execute in the current market.”

Other new luxury residential buildings in MAG’s portfolio include the 194-unit Anagram Turtle Bay at 300 East 50th Street and the 480-unit Ruby at 243 West 28th Street, which was built during the pandemic as MAG’s inaugural project.

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.