NEW YORK CITY-A popular mixed-use shopping center anchored by PC Richard, Marshalls and Bally Total Fitness has undergone a multi-million refinancing in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx. White Plains, NY-based Houlihan Parnes Realtors and Q10 New York Realty Advisors recently closed on a $50 million first mortgage loan secured by Two Fordham Square, a 250,000-square-foot, five-story office/retail building located at 2501 Grand Concourse.
The borrower is a partnership comprised of principal James Houlihan and members of the Jemal Family, headed by Jack and Sam Jemal. The seven-year, non-recourse PAR loan locked in at a 3.94% interest rate for the full term, provided for two years of interest only with amortization based on a 30-year schedule thereafter.
A company spokeswoman declined to disclose the lender to GlobeSt.com, but describes the bank “as New York based” with “an uncanny knowledge” of the Bronx market in a prepared statement.
Jeanne Cronin, managing director at Houlihan Parnes Realtors, tells GlobeSt.com that the company originally delayed closing of the loan due to a pre-payment penalty that was being reduced. She declined to disclose the amount, but says the borrower now has the privilege to pre-pay the loan without penalty during the final 60-days of the loan term.
The property--the former home of long-gone department stores like Alexander’s and Caldor--received a total gut renovation nine years ago. The building is 100% occupied and “very unique” for the Northern Bronx, Cronin adds. “It’s a tremendous location, a tremendous amount of foot traffic for all the retail stores,” she says, noting its accessibility to transit via the B and D trains at Fordham Road. “It’s really the Crossroads of the Bronx.”
Fordham Associates acquired the property from Vornado Realty Trust for $25.5 million in 2001. Fordham Associates completed the renovations of the building and successfully leased the building within months of the completed renovation, according to Houlihan.
In addition to the property’s ground-floor retail, the building also has three-and-a-half floors of class A office space with 52,000-square-foot floor plates. Cronin says the building’s location appeals to government and civic-oriented tenants, such as the New York City Office of Administrative Services, CUNY on the Concourse, Local 1199 Health & Hospital Workers Union and ACS.
Elizabeth Smith, Esq. of Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein, LLP represented the borrower. Title was insured by Chicago Title and All New York Title Agency, Inc. The loan was placed by a team of mortgage brokers led by Jeanne Cronin, Mike O’Neill, Jerry Houlihan and Kelly Houlihan of Houlihan Parnes and Q10NY.
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