By Joshua Burd
The owner of two mixed-use buildings in downtown Princeton has refinanced for more than $16 million, in a newly announced transaction by NorthMarq.
In a news release, the capital markets firm said Nassau HKT Associates secured a 15-year, $16.2 million loan at below 3 percent for the properties at 25 Spring St. and 55 Witherspoon St. The former is home to 52 luxury apartments and three ground-floor retail tenants, while the Witherspoon Street building has 24 units and two ground-floor commercial spaces.
Northmarq announced the deal this week, noting that the properties sit on former surface parking lots owned by the borough of Princeton. The municipality in 2003 formed a public-private partnership with Nassau HKT Associates that resulted in a 99-year, unsubordinated ground lease for the Witherspoon Street building, a 15,000-square-foot public plaza, a 500-car public parking garage and a new 58,000-square-foot building housing the Princeton Public Library.
The developer then built the Spring Street building across the street.
“The deal had a number of interesting facets including an unsubordinated ground lease, expiring (payment in lieu of taxes) and retail tenants who are paying 50 percent of their rent due to the pandemic,” said Gary Cohen, managing director of NorthMarq’s New Jersey office. “The lender, Principal Financial, was fantastic to work with and were able to get comfortable with the deal and provided an excellent execution.”
