A rendering of BELA at 74 Maple St. in Jersey City — Courtesy: JLL
By Joshua Burd
The owner of a newly completed, 104-unit luxury apartment building in Jersey City has secured a $43 million bridge loan, under a transaction arranged by JLL.
In a news release, the brokerage firm said it represented Golden Glades Capital Management in sourcing financing for the property at 74 Maple St. A financing subsidiary of BrightSpire Capital Inc. provided the three-year, floating-rate loan, which allowed the borrower to lower its cost of capital and complete its lease-up of what’s known as BELA.
JLL directors Matthew Pizzolato and Thomas E. Didio Jr. led the assignment, which comes after they secured acquisition financing for the borrower in 2020. The firm’s investment sales team also brokered the 2020 sale of the property.
“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Golden Glades Capital Management and once again represent them on this high-quality asset,” Pizzolato said. “They’ve done a tremendous job through lease-up since acquiring this property in the heart of COVID. BrightSpire Capital recognized this and stepped up to offer extremely attractive terms that allowed our borrower to recapitalize and lower their cost of capital.”
Located in Jersey City’s growing Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood, BELA features upscale interiors and amenities such as a fitness center, a yoga studio, grilling stations and an outdoor lounge, among others. The eight-story property boasts a location one block from Liberty State Park’s Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station and less than a mile from Interstate 78.
“JLL’s New Jersey capital markets team has been at the forefront of many of the largest Hudson County and northern New Jersey’s multi-housing trades and financings over the past 18 months,” Dido added. “This financing is a testament to the cohesive approach our market-leading practice takes servicing our clients, both on investment advisory and debt and equity financing. We are grateful to the Golden Glades team in entrusting us to execute this bridge financing that will allow them to stabilize full occupancy and season the asset’s performance at a cheap cost of capital with flexible structure.”