A rendering of a five-story, 40-unit apartment building at 185 Broadway in Paterson — Courtesy: Procida Funding
By Joshua Burd
The developer of two new apartment buildings in Paterson has secured more than $9.5 million in financing for the projects, in a set of newly completed transactions by Procida Funding.
The lender announced Wednesday that it provided two construction loans to Charles Florio, a repeat client, through its 100 Mile Fund. The financing includes $7.275 million to support a 40-unit building at 185 Broadway and $2.25 million for 12 units at 326 East 16th St., both in the Passaic County city.
In detailing the loans, Procida Funding touted a relationship with the borrower that now goes back more than a decade.
“What started out with a $180,000 loan to a 23-year-old developer in 2009 turned into $25 million, and substantially improved some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Paterson,” said Billy Procida, founder and CEO of the Englewood Cliffs-based firm. “We are looking forward to continuing with these two projects.”
Procida on Wednesday noted that Florio purchased 326 East 16th St. last September without any entitlements and designed a three-story, 12-unit building with 16 parking spots, which was approved by the city planning board on April 15. Around the same time, he and his team purchased the parking lot at 185 Broadway and designed a five-story, 40-unit building with one commercial unit.
The city planning board subsequently voted unanimously in favor of both projects.
“I will forever be grateful to Billy Procida and the 100 Mile Fund for directly helping my family business and indirectly creating thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in economic growth in Paterson,” said Florio, who hosted a groundbreaking this week at 185 Broadway.
Speakers at the ceremony included Procida, Councilman Louis Malez, Councilwoman Maritza Davila and Mayor Andre Sayegh.
“What Charles and his team have accomplished has been truly remarkable, and there is still a lot of work to do,” said Derek Weissman, a vice president with Procida Funding, who will asset-manage the projects. “Fortunately, we have the support of the city and people of the community behind us.”
The Procida team added that new development projects such as Florio’s will help decrease crime in the area.
“Charles has a great pipeline, and an even better team,” said Brian Foley, vice president at Procida Funding. “It is rare you meet people that truly want to make a difference in the community and that is exactly what we have found with Charles Florio and his team. I think that is what will continue to make the Procida-Florio relationship successful. We are looking forward to building out these projects and doing a lot more together.”
