The Vanbarton Group has the financing in place to pursue its office-to-residential conversion on First Avenue.
Eldridge Real Estate Credit, a unit of Eldridge Capital Management, provided a $250 million loan for 1011 First Avenue, Bloomberg reported. In addition to serving as construction financing, the loan also went towards the closing of the site’s $103 million sale.
The loan is the first for an office-to-residential conversion in New York for Eldridge, a $70 billion arm led by Todd Boehly.
Vanbarton plans to convert the 20-story building in Sutton Place into a 26-story, 420-unit residential complex under New York State’s 485x tax incentive program. At least 25 percent of the units will be designated as affordable housing.
The Catholic diocese announced last year it was vacating its longtime Sutton Place headquarters after leasing 142,000 square feet from the Feil Organization at 488 Madison Avenue.
Court documents recently revealed that Vanbarton is partnering with AVRS Partners on the project. AVRS is led by Edmond M. Safra and Adnane Mousannif, former head of real estate for the Americas at the Qatar Investment Authority.
Vanbarton is one of the most dominant players in New York City’s office-to-resi conversion market. The firm agreed to purchase 77 Water Street in the Financial District for $95 million, touting plans to convert the 542,000-square-foot property into as many as 600 rental units.
It launched sales at Pearl House at 160 Water Street, a 588-unit conversion featuring amenities like a bowling alley and hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber, where studio rents start at $3,500.Â
Previous projects also include the 570-unit conversion at 180 Water Street in 2017 and the 300-unit Hollingsworth at 70 West 37th Street in Midtown.
The developer is also in contract to buy 6 East 43rd Street from the Milstein family’s Emigrant Savings Bank for about $140 million, sources told The Real Deal. It plans to convert the 400,000-square-foot building into between 450 and 500 rental apartments.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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Safra’s AVRS Partners joins Vanbarton in archdiocese conversionÂ
Vanbarton lines up another office-to-resi deal
Vanbarton lines up another office-to-resi deal
