In terms of the financing markets, Kramer said “it’s been a tough couple of years” for ground-up construction. “When I look at the most recent financings we’ve done, a lot of them are not ground up,” he said. “They are refinancings, stabilized assets, affordable housing, which is different category than market-rate lending.”

Relationship lending, he said, could also present challenges for new developers to the area. “You hear a lot these days if you are new and trying to do ground-up development, good luck – it is going to be hard for you,” Kramer said. “People want to see that you’ve done this before, preferably if you’ve developed loans with banks before. And then there are different categories: if you are rental versus condo, it makes a huge difference. If you are Manhattan versus not Manhattan, it makes a huge difference.”

While financing is available for ground-up in stabilized locations, Kramer said making it work is the hardest part. “You are going to get a low-leverage conservative loan from a commercial bank, you’re going to mix it with some expense of some investment equity and it makes it hard to be a developer these days,” he said. “Having said that, the rental market is very strong and the condo market is getting better.”

That’s why Henry Justin, president of HJ Development LLC and H. Justin Realty Services, is currently developing 211 E. 51^st St., a rental-to-luxury condo conversion. The company is also known for condominium conversions at the Cass Gilbert at 130 W. 30^th St.; the Heywood at 263 9^th Ave.; and the Parkwood at 313 E. 28^th St.

At the same time, Justin is concerned about end loans throughout the market. “With the crunch of the mortgages on the end loans, we are not going to see any significant condominium improvements or sales improvements until perhaps securitization comes back and there’s a feeling that people can afford and there’s a sense that the market will prevail and they will be part of that market,” he said.

With the condominium market still in-flux, others are ramping up their efforts in the rental space. Robert Franco, vice president of the Albanese Org., has rapidly expanded into Manhattan’s multifamily scene. The company’s recent projects include the Vanguard Chelsea, a $77 million 30-story, a 300-unit apartment building at 77 W. 24^th St. in Chelsea; the Solaire, a $117 million 27-story, 293-unit LEED Gold residential tower in Battery Park City; and the Verdesian, a $102 million 24-story, 250-unit residence that was the first residential tower in the US to go LEED Platinum.

“When I joined the firm four years ago, we made the decision to diversify in Manhattan,” Franco said, noting that “relationships help” in getting financing. “In the three projects that we currently financed, it is all about relationships, and the lender wanted to work with us because they worked with us previously,” he added.

Outside the city, the firm was designated by the Town of Babylon as master developer of Wyandanch Rising, an $80 million 225-unit affordable mixed-use development on Long Island. In Westchester County, the firm will be developing the first-phase of a 525-unit rental/condo project on a former city-owned site in New Rochelle.

In addition, the Albanese Org. is designing an 180,000-square-foot, class A office building in West Chelsea near the High Line, and a 294-key Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel on West 37^th Street off 8^th Avenue.

“We are starting to be more bullish now on rentals because people who have bought land and paid as recently as the last 18 months, they are actually having trouble getting those condo construction loans,” Franco said. “We think over the next five years or so, there will be more of a push for rental rates.”

(left to right) David Kramer of the Hudson Cos. Inc; Joseph A. Tahl of Tahl Propp Equities; Joshua Stein of Joshua Stein PLLC; Henry Justin of HJ Development; and Robert Franco of the Albanese Org.