Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, announced it has arranged $287 million in combined construction financing and preferred equity for Douglaston Development’s 1057 Atlantic Avenue, a 474,000-square-foot, 17-story, 456-unit mixed-income multifamily rental development in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. Notably, the project will also be one of the last large-scale new rental housing developments eligible to receive a 35-year real estate tax exemption under the recently expired Affordable New York Housing Program (formerly known as 421-a). Greystone Capital Advisors’ Drew Fletcher, Paul Fried, and Bryan Grover served as exclusive advisors in arranging the financing on behalf of Douglaston Development.

Wells Fargo Bank led the $185 million construction financing as Administrative Agent, partnering with M&T Bank as Joint Lead Arranger and Bank United also participating in the facility. Funds managed by an affiliate of Ares Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. provided a $102 million preferred equity investment in the project. BEB Capital and Totem co-invested in the project with Douglaston and will serve as co-developer on the $320 million development.

Upon completion in late 2025, 1057 Atlantic Avenue will deliver 456 residential units to the community living at the intersection of three vibrant neighborhoods: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, and Clinton Hill. The development will include a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom residences. A total of 137 units will be permanently affordable, available to those earning 60% to 120% of the area median income (AMI). In addition to the residential portion of the project, 1057 Atlantic Avenue will include 31,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space as well as 35,000 square feet of state-of-the-art resident amenity spaces, featuring a gym, lounge, golf simulator, game room, screening room, children's playroom, and landscaped roof deck offering sweeping views of Brooklyn and the Manhattan skyline.

“Long-term clients such as Douglaston rely on us for our deep capital relationships and ability to execute on complex financing assignments even in the most challenging lending environments,” said Drew Fletcher, President of Greystone Capital Advisors. “With the increasing complexities of New York’s housing landscape, along with the rapidly changing capital markets, it is our mission to work tirelessly in order to find a solution that fits our clients’ needs.”

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a $24.1 million HUD 223(f) loan to refinance a 216-unit multifamily property in Charlotte, North Carolina. The financing was originated by Lisa M. Fischman, Managing Director at Greystone, on behalf of Pressly Development Company.

Argyle Place Apartments in Hickory is a midrise apartment community with 20 buildings consisting of one-, two- and three-bedroom units that were originally constructed in 1987 and 2001, and renovated in 2018. The HUD-insured loan carries a 35-year term and amortization along with a low, fixed rate. In addition to refinancing, loan proceeds enable the borrower to make renovations to the property and fund new construction projects.

“At Greystone, we rise to the challenge of helping clients navigate complex circumstances to secure the right financing for the multifamily properties in their portfolios,” said Ms. Fischman. “Clients choose Greystone for our significant multifamily expertise, our deep lending platform, and our commitment to helping them bring the vision for their properties to life.”

“We are incredibly impressed with the creativity, capabilities and commitment of Greystone – our team delivered for us a financing solution that others couldn’t,” said James Pressly, co-owner of Pressly Development Company. “Greystone’s attention to detail throughout this transaction was remarkable – the entire experience exceeded our expectations.”

David L. Pressly, Jr., principal of the borrower, added, “We’re actively working with the team on the next project and know that, even in these challenging economic times, Greystone will find the best path to closing.” 

Greystone was honored with two distinctions from Fannie Mae for its performance during 2022 as a Delegated Underwriting & Servicing (DUS®) lender. 

Greystone, the only company to receive two Lender Specialty Awards for 2022, was recognized for the following:

Excellence in Operations

“Greystone demonstrated excellence across multiple processes, including committing, delivery and certification, funding, securitization, disclosure, servicing reporting, and remitting and liquidation throughout the year.

Greystone has proven their strong commitment to the timely delivery of high-quality data, constant engagement, and partnership, all focused on meeting our mutual customers’ expectations. Greystone ranks among top performers in our many operations areas. They are proactive in making us aware of borrower issues and impacts from market changes and offering feedback and suggestions to improve processes.”

Excellence in Duty to Serve

“Greystone demonstrated their commitment to Duty to Serve (DTS) throughout 2022 by proactively sourcing eligible deals and tackling challenging targets across all three underserved markets. They brought their expertise and dedication to bear on DTS, even creating internal tools to help their production teams identify opportunities for 2023 and beyond. We are thankful for Greystone’s ongoing partnership.”

Greystone also ranked as the #1 Small Loan Lender for Fannie Mae in 2022, and the #3 Green Financing Lender for the same period.

In a press release about its top DUS lenders in 2022, for which Greystone ranked sixth overall, Rob Levin, Senior Vice President and Multifamily Chief Customer Officer, Fannie Mae, commented:

"We want to thank our DUS lenders for their partnership and helping us support the multifamily market. Together with our lenders, we were active across all market segments while building a balanced portfolio."

“We value our partnership with Fannie Mae and look forward to growing our relationship even further in 2023,” commented Chip Hudson, head of Greystone’s Agency lending platform.

“We thank Fannie Mae for the recognition of our Servicing and Asset Management operations, which is a great honor and validation for the hard work our team put into building a strong relationship with Fannie Mae,” added Sharon Briskman, head of Greystone’s Servicing and Asset Management platform.

The joint venture team of Cushman & Wakefield and Greystone announced that they arranged the sale of and provided acquisition financing for Salisbury Court, a 40-unit apartment community located at 1501 Old Salisbury Ct. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Hunter Bowling, Laney Orr, Rhodes Marley, and Gavin Conlon represented the seller in the $2,855,000 sales transaction while Greystone’s Daniel Kaweblum originated an interest-only bridge loan with a fixed rate and three-year term. The multifamily property was sold by a partnership between Grubb Properties and Carolina Community Investments and acquired by Emerald City Associates.  

“Emerald City Associates has made a great addition to their quickly expanding portfolio. Salisbury Court is a well-positioned asset, with interior value add upside, and located in one of the fastest growing MSA’s in the Sunbelt. We are grateful to have been a part of this transaction,” said Hunter Bowling, Senior Director at Cushman & Wakefield.

Salisbury Court was built in 1982 and features five two-story buildings with units averaging a modest 713 square feet. It is situated in perfectly in South Winston-Salem, benefiting from strong submarket fundamentals and close proximity to entertainment hubs and job centers. The apartment community also offers the opportunity to invest in a proven value-add initiative started by previous ownership that would offer substantial growth opportunities.

"It was a pleasure working with Cushman & Wakefield on this acquisition loan on behalf of our client, Loyd Fornes, and Emerald City Associates – demonstrating that even in today’s environment, there are opportunities for competitive financing on strong value-add assets in growing markets. The efficiency of execution was a testament to the thesis that aligning all sides of the transaction – in this great partnership between Cushman & Wakefield and Greystone – brings unprecedented benefit to our clients. We’re excited to have taken this concept to reality with this transaction and look forward to many more,” added Greystone’s Daniel Kaweblum.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Sunbelt Multifamily Advisory Group is a 109-person investment sales team covering 11 states with No. 1 multifamily market share in that region based on sales volume and transactions reported to CoStar. Per Cushman & Wakefield, in 2022, the group closed $11.1 billion in sales volume through 360 deals and over 60,300 units. 

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a $32,173,000 Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting & Servicing (DUS®) loan for a 412-unit multifamily property in Humble, Texas. The financing was originated by Anthony Cristi, Managing Director at Greystone, with Gregory Vassilakos of Cosmos Capital Group acting as correspondent.

Constructed in 2004, The Villas at Foxbrick in Harris County is a 24-building garden-style apartment community that offers one- and two-bedroom units. The $32,173,000 non-recourse, fixed-rate financing carries a seven-year term and 30-year amortization. In addition to refinancing, loan proceeds enable the borrower to monetize a portion of their equity in the property.

“Greystone’s extensive multifamily lending platform, coupled with our deep industry expertise, enables us to address our clients’ capital needs through every phase of a property’s lifecycle,” said Mr. Cristi. “For every client, our goal is to deliver thoughtful and sophisticated financing solutions flawlessly executed through seamless transaction experiences.”

Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, has provided a total of $40,124,000 in Fannie Mae Delegated Underwriting & Servicing (DUS®) loans for two multifamily properties totaling 408 units in Indianapolis, Indiana. The financings were originated by Dan Sacks, Senior Managing Director, and Avi Kozlowski, Managing Director, in Greystone’s New York office.

For one transaction, Greystone secured a $23,484,000 Fannie Mae Green Rewards loan carrying a 10-year term and 30-year amortization, with full-term interest-only payments and 9.5 years of Yield Maintenance. Loan proceeds enable the borrower to acquire and make improvements to the property, which is a 26-building garden style apartment community that was constructed in 1972 and offers 200 one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

For a garden-style apartment community built in 1970 that consists of 24 buildings with 208 studio, one- and two-bedroom units, Greystone separately secured a $16,640,000 non-recourse, fixed-rate Fannie Mae loan carrying a 10-year term and 35-year amortization, with full-term interest-only payments and 9.5 years of yield maintenance. In addition to refinancing, loan proceeds enable the borrower to make improvements to the property and monetize a portion of their equity.

Both properties are in Marion County.

“It is our privilege to help clients achieve their long-term goals for each of the multifamily properties their portfolios,” said Mr. Sacks. “We leverage our extensive financing program and work creatively to deliver solutions that exceed expectations for every client, on every transaction.”