A Flatiron-based developer has locked in a $55 million loan to redevelop a two-building site on East 12th Street in Greenwich Village, clearing a big financial hurdle for one of the neighborhood’s few remaining buildable parcels and nudging the property closer to a larger residential project.
According to Crain's New York Business, the $55 million financing package was arranged this month for a redevelopment at 111-113 E. 12th St. Crain's identified the borrower as a Flatiron-area firm that plans to push the property through predevelopment work before full construction.
A listing from JLL pegs 111-113 East 12th Street as roughly a 50,000 buildable-square-foot development site in a C6-2A zoning district. The marketing materials also note that the owner has already purchased neighboring air rights, which could significantly increase the amount of floor area that can ultimately rise on the lot.
Public records show the existing pair of buildings traded hands late last month. PincusCo reports that an entity tied to JMH Development and AG Paratus paid $23.5 million for the properties. The deal closed May 29 and was recorded on June 11, setting the stage for the new financing.
What Could Go Up At The Site
JLL outlines several as-of-right and bonus options for the project. A baseline residential plan would yield about 31,966 zoning floor area (ZFA) for a condominium building. With the already purchased air rights, that figure can jump to roughly 38,718 ZFA, and it can be pushed as high as about 49,632 ZFA using inclusionary housing certificates. Together, those paths give the owner a menu that runs from a smaller condo play to a denser rental project that taps into the city’s new affordability incentives.
Why Lenders Are Still Saying Yes
A press release from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development explains that programs such as 485-x and the Universal Affordability Preference are designed to juice housing production by offering tax breaks and density bonuses that can reshape the underwriting math, especially for smaller infill sites like this one. In a reminder that lenders still have an appetite for well-located Village deals, The Real Deal reported in February that Legion Investment Group secured a $191 million construction loan for 11 West 13th Street.
Public-records tracking shows there are currently no active major construction filings on the tax lot, so the $55 million appears to be geared toward predevelopment and initial work, PincusCo notes. If the owner moves ahead, demolition permits and new Department of Buildings applications will be the next visible signs in city records that the East 12th Street makeover is officially underway.
