Scale Supplies $45M Construction Loan for Harlem Condos

Mass Development has landed $45 million of construction financing to build a condominium building in Harlem, Commercial Observer has learned.

SCALE Lending, a subsidiary of Slate Property Group, provided the 30-month, floating-rate loan with two six-month extension options for the developer’s 11-story condo complex at 264-272 West 135th Street. Mass Development acquired the site — which previously housed two low-rise retail buildings —  for $9.3 million last year from Rabina, Crain’s New York Business reported at the time. 

“Harlem is one of the most supply-constrained condo markets in New York City, with no new project of comparable scale or quality delivered in years, and the pipeline remaining effectively empty,” Martin Nussbaum, co-founder and principal of Slate Property Group, said in a statement. “That level of scarcity creates a rare and compelling opportunity.”

Arrow Real Estate Advisors negotiated the debt with a team led by Morris Betesh and Omar Ferreira. 

The 264-272 West 135th project, which is slated for completion in summer 2028, will feature 72 condos ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. The top floor of the building will feature amenities such as a fitness center,  a lounge, a spa, a kids playroom and a movie room. 

The first two floors of the property will consist of the lobby, 12,000 square feet of retail and a 15,000-square-foot community space, which has already been leased to an undisclosed day care operator. The site is just off Frederick Douglass Boulevard, about a block and a half east of St. Nicholas Park. 

Mass Development did not immediately return a request for comment.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.