55 Washington St. in East Orange — Courtesy: Lightstone Capital
By Joshua Burd
Lightstone Capital has provided a $24 million loan to the developer of a newly built, 91-unit apartment building in East Orange.
According to the lender, the financing will support construction and lease-up of the nine-story property at 55 Washington St. The firm said the borrower, Friber Group, has already filled nearly half of the building as it markets a location near bus and rail service and amenities such as a fitness center, a dog park and a resident lounge and terrace.
The loan is among the latest transactions by the Lightstone real estate debt platform, which has executed more than $1.5 billion in financing recently.
“Lightstone Capital has been extremely active in the first quarter of 2025, having closed on five transactions over the last 90 days, and we expect to see this momentum continue,” said Eugene Rozovsky, senior managing director of Lightstone Capital. “55 Washington is just one example of a strong investment opportunity to finance a high-quality product in a submarket backed by sound fundamentals supporting further growth and development. We are excited to provide a flexible capital solution in an expedited timeframe to help sponsorship see this project through stabilization.”
Daniel Cohen, managing director at Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, added: “Leveraging the platform’s experience in development, Lightstone Capital, quickly and efficiently underwrote this bridge-off-construction financing, provided and negotiated terms and closed seamlessly, to support the asset’s lease-up and stabilization.”
