Richard Bassuk, president of SBO, says the firm also completed avariety of financings on the project. First, Bassuk tellsGlobeSt.com, SBO worked with Matthew Adell to find an equitypartner for the acquisition. SBO then arranged the constructionfinancing for Chelsea 27th Street Apartments LLC comprisingaffiliates of Matthew Adell and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers,Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual LifeInsurance Co. The financing was provided by low floater tax-exemptand taxable bonds issued by the New York State Housing FinanceAgency under its 80/20 program, with credit enhancement for the HFAbonds provided under a newly formulated program that GMAC developedwith Fannie Mae.

According to Bassuk, Adell and his father, Leonard, areresponsible for creating the booming Chelsea residential area asthey had fought for 15 years to change the zoning in the area. "Itwas a massive undertaking," he says. Adell adds that in acting asbroker and financial advisor to the venture from inception, Bassuksuccessfully "arranged the joint venture, construction financingand forward commitment."

Financing 80/20 projects is highly labor intensive and takesspecialized knowledge. To provide the necessary services, SBO hasin-house specialists fully experienced with such projects. Bassukindicated that he is actively working on other substantial 80/20and Liberty Bond transactions, some of which are expected to closeshortly.