HOBOKEN, NJ-A total of $53 million in financing is set for Monroe Center, a multi-phase mixed-use redevelopment project here. The funding covers only the second phase of the five-phase project.The deal was arranged for the developer, locally based Monroe Center Development LLC, by Tom Didio, senior managing director in the Florham Park office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler. According to Didio, the financing came in two parts, the largest being a $41-million, three-year adjustable-rate construction loan with Sovereign Bank.Part two is a $12-million, three-year mezz loan with Prudential Real Estate Investors. Both packages come in the wake of earlier loans for the project, interim land loans arranged in 2004 and early 2005 totaling $12.8 million.It's described as phase two, but the construction is actually the first new phase of the larger 1.4-acre project. Phase one encompasses the existing Monroe Center for the Arts, which includes commercial space, galleries and arts-related tenants. Phase two, just under construction and slated for completion in late 2006, will have 123 residential condos, 17,000 sf of street-level retail and a five-story, 740-space parking garage.Phases three, four and five, meanwhile, will add a total of 312 apartments, a 380-car parking garage and 34,000 sf of retail to the mix. The retail leasing campaign is under way, according to Seth Kenstenbaum, director of real estate development for Monroe Center Development."The entire project will be the catalyst for transforming the Northwest Redevelopment area of the city," Didio predicts. "This area was once considered 'undesirable.' Monroe Center was designed to promote the arts by incorporating the loft space of phase one with the residential development, adding character to the residential community."