the Monaco, a two-tower, 50-story residential and retail development here, and now that project has gotten a major financial boost. PNC Real Estate Finance has arranged a three-year, $214-million construction loan to bankroll Monaco North Urban Renewal LLC for the project. The originally announced price tag for the project was $210 million.

Monaco North Urban Renewal LLC is actually a partnership consisting of lead developer Roseland Property Co. of Short Hills, along with the locally based Garden State Development Inc., Prudential and the Secaucus-based Hartz Mountain Industries. The funding is coming from a syndication headed by PNC Capital Markets LLC that includes six other financial institutions that were not identified. "The construction loan builds on an existing banking relationship," says a spokesman for PNC Real Estate Finance.

The Monaco started out as a condo project, approved as such by local officials in 2007. The format was subsequently switched and re-approved as rental apartments in 2008 for market-related reasons. It's slated for delivery in 2011, and the two towers will bring a total of 524 residential units to market, along with 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and a 558-space parking garage. The 2.5-acre site at the corner of Washington Blvd. and Thomas Gangemi Dr. is a former parking lot for the adjacent Doubletree Hotel, which itself continues in operation.

"The Monaco will provide a mix of residential and retail and will contribute to this city's status not just as a gateway to Manhattan, but as a destination in its own right," says Roseland principal Carl Goldberg.