Walker & Dunlop and Pretium have teamed up to drop a $75.7 million bridge loan on a 174-unit affordable housing property in Chelsea, Manhattan, the firms said Monday. The short-term, first-lien financing is designed to carry the building into an expected permanent HUD 223(f) refinance and doubles as the debut deal for the Walker & Dunlop Affordable Bridge Capital joint venture.
The 13-story property, originally built in 1928 and rehabilitated in 1981, is packed with 110 one-bedroom and 64 two-bedroom apartments that average about 704 square feet, according to a Business Wire release. Residents get a fairly full slate of community perks, including a clubhouse, fitness center, business center, laundry facilities, secure entry and 24/7 third-party security. “This closing reflects the strength of our partnership with Pretium, and our shared commitment to supporting the preservation of affordable housing,” Walker & Dunlop executive William Carroll said in the announcement.
Joint Venture Built to Move Deals Faster
Walker & Dunlop bills its Affordable Bridge Capital platform as a source of interest-only, short-term first-mortgage bridge loans, generally ranging from $10 million to $75 million with six to 36 month terms, to help owners position assets for agency takeouts, Walker & Dunlop says. Since December 2024, Pretium’s real estate debt platform has supplied more than $3 billion in loans that backed the creation of roughly 13,000 housing units, the Business Wire release adds. Karen Kulvin, managing director for real estate debt at Pretium, said the closing shows the venture can “fill that gap” for owners juggling complicated refinancing timelines, according to the release.
Why the Deal Matters in Chelsea
In a tight Manhattan submarket like Chelsea, where every affordable unit tends to have a waiting list, agency refinancing can drag on for months. Bridge capital helps keep preservation projects moving while sponsors chase HUD or other permanent financing, rather than watching deals stall out midstream. This closing is an early milestone for the joint venture and underscores how private capital is increasingly stepping in to preserve affordability as underwriting timelines and market volatility slow long-term takeouts, CityBiz reports.
For Walker & Dunlop and Pretium, the move is ultimately about keeping 174 affordable homes in place while the borrower locks in a long-term HUD solution. Pretium’s platform manages roughly $60 billion in assets, a scale that the firms say lets them move quickly when preservation deals like this one need a short-term capital jolt, Walker & Dunlop notes.
