A finish line is in sight for Lonicera Partners and Rabina at House 55.
The joint venture secured $226 million in debt to refinance their luxury multifamily project at 55 Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the Commercial Observer reported. Affinius Capital provided the bridge debt, which will support lease-up and stabilization of the 295-unit project.
No broker was listed in connection with the refinancing of the 43-story building.
Construction on the property began more than three years ago, but stabilization is expected to occur by early next year. Lonicera executive Brooke Cianfichi said in a statement that the property sports an “exceptionally strong lease-up to date.”
House 55 includes 10 studio apartments, 256 one-bedroom units and 29 two-bedroom units, along with 3,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Residential amenities include a sundeck, a game room, a co-working lounge and a fitness center.
Lonicera filed plans for the property in early 2022. At the time, the developer had recently filed plans to build a 34-story, 314-unit building at 15 Hanover Place. And a month earlier, Lonicera picked up a 12,000-square-foot commercial building at 275 Livingston Street, directly across from another of its projects: a ground-up multifamily development at 302-312 Livingston.
Rabina, Lonicera’s partner at House 55, recently secured a $160.2 million loan from KKR to refinance the 421-unit QLIC rental tower in Long Island City, Queens. The building, co-owned with World Wide Group, features 421 apartments, 8,000 square feet of retail and benefits from a tax abatement under the city’s former 421a program.
Elsewhere in Downtown Brooklyn, developer Shimon Klein filed plans in August for a 297-unit residential project, featuring commercial and community space.
The development is structured as three separate 99-unit buildings, a move likely intended to avoid the $40 wage floor triggered by the 485x tax abatement for projects with 100 or more units.
Read more
Developer planning trio of 99-unit buildings in DoBro
World Wide Group, Rabina obtain $160M loan in Long Island City
Lonicera planning 38-story apartment tower in Downtown Brooklyn
