Meridian Capital Orchestrates $737M in Financing for NYC M-F Portfolio Purchase

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

3333 Broadway, Manhattan

A major Manhattan multi-family transaction has taken place with the assistance of Meridian Capital Group. The commercial real estate finance firm arranged $737 million in financing on behalf of Brookfield Property Partners and Urban American for the acquisition of The Putnam Portfolio, a 3,962-unit apartment collection.

Brookfield and Urban American acquired the group of assets in a venture that allows Urban American to retain an ownership stake in the properties. The largest apartment community in the six-property, 24-building portfolio is 3333 Broadway, offering 1,193 residences, three commercial units and parking for the accommodation of 380 vehicles.

Sometimes it takes a village or a big consortium to provide a nearly billion-dollar financing package, but Meridian managed to orchestrate the debt through just two lenders: New York Community Bank and Bank of China. And in what seems like a flashback to the pre-credit crunch days when big loans were doled out like candy, the two banks were hardly the only lenders undaunted by the gargantuan loan size for The Putnam Portfolio.

As Meridian notes in a press release, today there is “substantial liquidity for multi family assets in New York City.” Certainly, it’s a rare commercial real estate player–be it lender or investor–that doesn’t want a bite of the Big Apple. With The Putnam Portfolio financing, Meridian points to New York Community Bank and Bank of China’s “creativity and efficiency” as the factors that placed them ahead of the competition.

Borrowers Brookfield and Urban American plan to upgrade  The Putnam Portfolio, which is already in fine shape, courtesy of a major capital improvement program facilitated by the previous ownership. Urban American will continue to serve as property manager for the assets.