First NYC new construction loans recorded in nearly two months

By Adam Pincus

Lenders recorded the first new construction loans in nearly two months in Acris, ending inactivity resulting from restrictions New York State imposed on country clerks as part of its battle with the coronavirus pandemic.

The first lender to record a construction loan, typically called a “building loan” in mortgage filings, was CTL Lending Group, which recorded an $18.3 million building loan on May 28 against the rehabilitation of dormitory units by GFP Real Estate at 301 First Avenue that’s part of a $194 million debt package.

The second construction loan was for a modest ground-up project. It totaled $5.9 million, and is to finance the construction of an 18,221-square-foot, 70-key hotel under development at 2008 Webster Avenue in the East Tremont neighborhood of the Bronx. It was filed June 5.

Another building loan was filed yesterday for $10 million for a property in Long Island City.

The last building loans to be filed before the halt were recorded in April, and included Sam Chang’s McSam Hotel Group projects in Queens.

Construction loans had halted but permit applications for new construction projects remained very active despite the restrictions on construction.

The smaller loan was provided by Midtown-based Alpine Capital Bank to Hemal Patel. Alpine’s most recent loan before that was an $8.1 million construction loan for a project in Brooklyn, which was recorded in March.

Even as building loans were not being recorded, lenders did record two project loans last month, for example a group of lenders recorded $604 million in debt against the Oxford Properties Group project at St. John’s Terminal that included a $40 million project loan but did not include the building loan.

New York’s county clerks began accepting building loans in late May, according to the law firm Herrick Feinstein and others.