New Battery Park Apartment Tower Closes $58 Mil Mortgage

NEW YORK CITY-A newly constructed, 324-unit apartment tower in Downtown Manhattan has closed on $58 million in financing. The closing was originally scheduled for September 12, the day following the World Trade Center attacks.

New York Life Investment Management acted as investment manager for lead lender New York Life Insurance Co. on the loan for 22 River Terrace, located in the northern residential area of Battery Park City. The mortgage is a co-investment between New York Life and the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System with each entity funding half the loan. Real estate finance intermediary and advisory firm the Singer & Bassuk Organization acted as broker for the transaction.

The 27-story building was purchased by 22 River Terrace LLC, a subsidiary of Rockrose Development Corp, which developed the $45 million building, its third rental property in Battery Park City. Located between the Esplanade, Rockefeller Park and the recently developed Tear Drop Park, the 280,000-sf tower comprises one- two- and three-bedroom rental apartments ranging in size from 556 to 1,374 sf.

According to Scott Singer, vice president at Singer & Bassuk, both lenders were determined to close the deal quickly for the sake of the city’s morale. “Everyone was working to move forward as soon as logistically possible to close,” Singer tells GlobeSt.com. “I know that one of the things important to all parties involved was to make a statement of faith in New York City. And I think that gave us a sense of purpose beyond the economics of the deal, to try to get it done as quickly as possible.”

Singer tells GlobeSt.com that while “there was very little that could happen the first week” following the attacks, by the following Monday, the lenders were ready to press on. “They wanted to get their engineers down to the property and confirm that there had been no structural or physical damage,” Singer says. “As soon as they determined that, we moved to close and we did. The lenders never questioned their commitment and belief in the city as a whole and Downtown in particular.”

“The building that we are financing survived the attack, is structurally sound and has good prospects for anchoring the recovery of the Downtown area,” says Gary E. Wendlandt, chairman and CEO of New York Life. “We also feel that this loan is a clear statement of our company’s faith in the people of New York and in the City’s ability to rebound and rebuild.”

Designed by local architectural firm Gruzen Samton, the building is notable for the voluntary integration of green elements into its design. Though its construction predated Battery Park City Authority guidelines for energy-efficiency and environmental sensitivity, 22 River Terrace features energy-saving window glazing, fluorescent lighting and motion sensors. The green elements reportedly added $400,000, or roughly 1% to the cost of the building, an investment the developer says will pay for itself in energy savings.

“We believe this is a sound investment that also provides us an opportunity to support revitalization efforts in this area,” says George Philip, executive director of the Teachers’ Retirement System. “This property, located in the heart of New York City’s financial district, symbolizes our confidence in the underlying strength of the New York City and US economies.