LCOR Closes Financing on Brooklyn Rental

BROOKLYN, NY-LCOR has closed on construction financing for its 142-unit, $69-million rental property to be located at 34 Berry St. in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The developer secured a $33-million construction loan for the project from Bank of America.

David Sigman, SVP of LCOR, tells GlobeSt.com that securing the loan represented a higher hurdle than it would have in the past. “It was much more challenging,” he says, adding that financing came through because “we had a long-term relationship with BofA, a long track record in this product type, a lot of equity and a stable institutional partner.” LCOR’s partner on the development is a major pension fund, according to a prepared release.

Because LCOR had begun foundation work prior to the June 30 deadline, the 34 Berry project gained a 421a tax abatement under guidelines in effect at the time. The current 421a guidelines include a considerably larger “exclusionary zone” of ineligibility for projects within that zone, including all of Manhattan as well as a larger swath of Brooklyn.