Monadnock, Project Renewal sign $102.9M construction loan in Grand Central

Monadnock Development and Project Renewal through the entity New Providence Housing Owner LLC as borrower signed a construction loan with lender NYC Housing Development Corporation and New Providence (Shelter) Deal ID No. 50008926 valued at $102.9 million for two properties with 59 residential units including the 59-unit specialty building (N2) at 217 East 45th Street in Grand Central, Manhattan and office building (O2) at 215 East 45th Street in Grand Central, Manhattan.

On these lots, there is one active new building construction project for a 106-unit, 113,707 square-foot R-2 building. The project was submitted by New Providence Supporting Housing and filed by Paul Woody with plans filed March 20, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet.

The deal closed on December 21, 2023 and was recorded on January 26, 2024. The two properties have 35,749 square feet of built space and 64,671 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 100,420 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data.
The signatory for Monadnock Development and Project Renewal was Nicholas Lembo and Eric Rosenbaum. The development is slated to have a residential portion with 131 residential units and a homeless shelter portion with 171 beds and a health care clinic. The city provided $58.9 million construction loan to the residential portion and New Providence (Shelter) Deal ID No. 50008926 provided $44 million for the shelter.

Because multiple properties have been transacted, some of the following sections will follow the property with the largest assessed value, which in this case, is the property on 217 East 45th Street.

The property

The specialty building with 59 residential units in Grand Central has 35,749 square feet of built space and 64,671 square feet of additional air rights for a total buildable of 100,420 square feet according to a PincusCo analysis of city data. The parcel has frontage of 83 feet and is 100 feet deep with a total lot size of 8,368 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 $12.7 million.

Violations and lawsuits

There were no lawsuits or bankruptcies filed against the properties for the past 24 months. In addition, according to city public data, the properties have received $8,750 in ECB penalties and $10,310 in OATH penalties in the last year.

The neighborhood

In Grand Central, The majority, or 83 percent of the 43.5 million square feet of commercial built space are office buildings, with hotel buildings next occupying 8 percent of the space. In sales, Grand Central has 3 times the average sales volume among other neighborhoods with $909 million in sales volume in the last two years and is the 12th highest in Manhattan. For development, Grand Central has 3 times the average amount of major developments relative to other neighborhoods and is the 8th highest in Manhattan. It had 3 million square feet of commercial and multi-family construction under development in the last two years, which represents 7 percent of the neighborhood’s built space.

The block

On the tax block of 217 East 45th Street, PincusCo has identified the owners of seven of the 16 commercial properties representing 579,093 square feet of the 986,973 square feet. The largest owner is Slate Property Group, followed by Sage Hall Partners and then Oak B Management.
On the tax block, there were two new building construction projects totaling 134,119 square feet. The largest is a 106-unit, 113,707 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by New Providence Supporting Housing and filed by Paul Woody with plans filed March 20, 2023 and it has not been permitted yet. The second largest is a 15-unit, 20,412 square-foot residential (R-2) building submitted by Eduard Slinin with plans filed October 7, 2015 and it has not been permitted yet.

The majority, or 79 percent of the 986,973 square feet of built space are office buildings, with elevator buildings next occupying 9 percent of the space.

The borrower

The PincusCo database currently indicates that Monadnock Development owned at least 74 commercial properties with 2,933 residential units in New York City with 2,119,587 square feet and a city-determined market value of $276.8 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $864.8 million in debt, with top three lenders as New York City Housing Authority, NYC Housing Development Corporation, and NYS Housing Finance Agency respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 65 percent of the 2,119,587 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with walkup properties next occupying 20 percent of the space. The bulk, or 82 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Bronx next at 17 percent of the space.
The PincusCo database currently indicates that Project Renewal owned at least six commercial properties with 185 residential units in New York City with 165,656 square feet and a city-determined market value of $19.3 million. (Market value is typically about 50% of actual value.) The portfolio has $242.6 million in debt, with top three lenders as Prudential Financial, UMB Bank, and Wells Fargo respectively. Within the portfolio, the bulk, or 29 percent of the 165,656 square feet of built space are elevator properties, with N9 properties next occupying 25 percent of the space. The bulk, or 54 percent of the built space, is in Manhattan, with Brooklyn next at 25 percent of the space.

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