Andrew J. Singer, chairman and CEO of the Singer & Bassuk Organization, arranged the loan for the 190,000-sf Grand Beekman on behalf of developers Izak Senbahar and Simon Elias. Assisting in the transaction was Singer & Bassuk senior managing director Kathleen McSharry. "This financing is the first major condominium loan to be committed and closed in Manhattan after Sept. 11," says Singer. "It shows the great faith that the developers and the banks have in the luxury condo market in New York."

The $85-million property is under construction at 400 E. 51st St. Designed by Costas Kondylis & Partners, it will have three full-floor penthouses and 89 one-, two- three- and four- bedroom units ranging in size from 806 sf to 3,700 sf and priced from $575,000 to $4.75 million. Aggregate sale price of the 89 apartments is $150 million, According to Senbahar. Roughly 40% of the apartments are sold and delivery is scheduled for October.

Senbahar says the building's facade "takes its cues from River House," a pre-war multifamily building located at 52nd Street and the East River. "It's a classical brick and limestone exterior that really meshes into the fabric of Beekman Place," he tells GlobeSt.com. "It belongs with the pre-wars of that area." Amenities at the doorman building will include a fitness center, children's play room, landscaped gardens and a tray-ceiling conservatory on the ground floor.