NEW YORK CITY—The acquisition of Long Island College Hospital by Fortis Property Group has been completed. Madison Realty Capital provided a first mortgage financing of more than $107 million for phase one of the purchase of LICH's real estate portfolio in Brooklyn. Collateral for the loan is a mix of former LICH properties comprising 357,000 square feet and includes retail, medical office, townhouses and development sites located at the following addresses 91-95 Pacific St., 350-352 Hicks St., 349 Henry St., 112 Pacific St., 82 Amity St., 84 Amity St., 124-134 Atlantic Ave., 113 Congress St., 336 Flatbush Ave., and 184 Sterling Pl.
MRC worked closely with Fortis to provide a flexible financing solution to facilitate the acquisition, which is the culmination of a complex, multi-party deal related to the LICH portfolio. Following a competitive RFP process that was completed approximately 18 months ago, Fortis won the right to acquire and develop the portfolio, owned by the State University of New York. Under the transaction that was negotiated, Fortis is to purchase the LICH portfolio in two phases and will redevelop the former hospital campus into a mixed-use project while NYU will build a new medical facility to service the neighborhood.
"We look forward to refining our redevelopment plans over the next couple of months through our work with council member Brad Lander, other local elected officials and stakeholders, and the broader community,” Fortis says.
“MRC specializes in delivering funding for complex, time-sensitive middle market transactions, so in many ways we were a natural fit for the LICH deal,” says Josh Zegen, co-founder and managing principal of MRC. “We've been active as a lender and investor in Brooklyn for many years now and our vertically-integrated team has the ability to rapidly assess and underwrite existing properties as well as new development projects. Cobble Hill is one of Brooklyn's most desirable neighborhoods, and yet properties rarely trade and very few are developed given zoning and landmark restrictions. These properties are unique in offering as-of-right development potential and have no landmark restrictions, so this deal is particularly exciting for us to play this role in. Our team got up to speed quickly and ultimately closed a great deal.”
David Harte, managing director with Ackman-Ziff, represented Fortis in the transaction and presented the financing opportunity to MRC.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
