Lonicera Partners signs $74M refi for 160-unit rental in Boerum Hill

Lonicera Partners through the entity Livingston Owner, LLC as borrower signed a refi loan with lender First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company valued at $74 million for the 160-unit residential elevator building (D6) at 308 Livingston Street in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.
The deal closed on May 13, 2024 and was recorded on May 15, 2024. The prior lender was Santander Bank which held debt that had an original loan amount of $70 million.
The property has 142,460 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The loan price per built square foot is $519 per the PincusCo analysis. (The price per square foot analysis is the transaction price divided by square feet as reported in public records and assumes no air rights have been sold.)
The owner bought the property on May 31, 2019, for $11 million. The signatory for Lonicera Partners was Jamie R. Anthony. The signatory for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company was Ted Dalton.

The property

The residential elevator building with 160 residential units in Boerum Hill has 142,460 square feet of built space according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 43 feet and is 70 feet deep with a total lot size of 9,666 square feet. The zoning is C6-4 which allows for up to 10 times floor area ratio (FAR) for commercial and up to 10 times FAR for residential with inclusionary housing. The city-designated market value for the property in 2022 is $25.2 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the property for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the property has received two housing violations in the last year.

Development

On the lot, there was one active new building construction project for a 160-unit, 115,881 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by Lonicera Partners and filed by John Evans with plans filed October 16, 2018 and permitted February 10, 2020.

The block

On this tax block, PincusCo has identified the owners of three of the nine commercial properties representing 232,467 square feet of the 260,208 square feet. The largest owner is Susan Stern, followed by Lonicera Partners and then 6R Capital Group.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 208,434 square feet. The largest is a 160-unit, 115,881 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Lonicera Partners and filed by John Evans with plans filed October 16, 2018 and permitted December 19, 2019. The second largest is a 105-unit, 92,553 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Louis Greco Jr. and filed by Louis Greco Jr. with plans filed September 23, 2014 and permitted December 6, 2018.

The majority, or 55 percent of the 260,208 square feet of built space are elevator buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 33 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Lonicera Partners owned at least 12 commercial properties with 492 residential units in New York City with 259,015 square feet and a city-determined market value of $51 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $304.1 million in debt, with top three lenders as Santander Bank, City National Bank, and Santander Bank respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 55 percent of the 259,015 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with development properties next occupying 14 percent of the space. The bulk, or 98 percent of the built space, is in Brooklyn, with Queens next at 2 percent of the space.

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