Canyon Capital Realty Advisors Provides $120-Million Construction Loan for Residential Development in Gowanus, Brooklyn

Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC (Canyon Realty), a real estate investment firm, has provided a $120-million senior construction loan to LSG 365 Bond Street LLC, an affiliate of Lightstone, for the ground-up development of a 12-story luxury residential rental community in Gowanus, one of Brooklyn’s most dynamic and diverse neighborhoods. Meridian Capital Group, a New York City based commercial mortgage broker, advised Lightstone on the transaction.

The proceeds of Canyon’s construction loan will be used to develop a contextual multifamily property that will include 429 residential units at 365 Bond Street, including 86 units of affordable housing. The project will also include a public esplanade along the Gowanus Canal, which will provide the community with a lighted walk-way, public outdoor space, and access to the canal.

“Canyon has a long history of investing in Brooklyn and its emerging neighborhoods, and we have been tracking the Gowanus neighborhood for some time now. We are pleased to have the opportunity to finance this transformational project, which will add several hundred mixed-income high-quality housing units to the neighborhood,” said Charlie Rose, Director at Canyon Realty. "Gowanus has recently experienced a notable revitalization and is now home to a variety of restaurant, retail and arts amenities, and we are excited to be a part of the area’s evolution.”

In fact, Canyon has been an active investor in New York City and other Brooklyn neighborhoods for over two decades. Notable previous investments by Canyon in Brooklyn include the following:

• One Hanson Place (the former Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower), which Canyon redeveloped into a 217-unit residential project in Downtown Brooklyn;
• The Viridian, a 130-unit multifamily rental project in Greenpoint;
• The Isabella, a 63-unit residential project located in Clinton Hill; and
• 20 Henry, a 39-unit historical rehabilitation and residential project, which Canyon developed in Brooklyn Heights.

Coming on the heels of its successful development of Gantry Park in Long Island City, Lightstone is expanding its New York City footprint to include Brooklyn. “Lightstone is committed to the Gowanus neighborhood and its current and future residents, and we are thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Canyon Realty to bring this project to fruition," said Mitchell Hochberg, President of Lightstone. “Canyon Realty was the ideal lender to provide the non-recourse financing for this construction loan. The Canyon team’s deep understanding of the local market and ability to quickly execute this large, complex transaction was essential to us.”

Drew Anderman, Senior Managing Director at Meridian Capital, said: “Canyon Realty was able to rapidly comprehend this complex transaction, issuing a term sheet within a few days of learning about the opportunity. Canyon has again proven to be a dependable source of capital, and we look forward to working with them again on future opportunities across the country.”

About Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC

Canyon Capital Realty Advisors LLC (http://www.canyoncapitalrealtyadvisors.com/) is the real estate direct investing arm of Canyon Partners, LLC. Founded in 1990, Canyon Partners and its affiliates are investment management firms headquartered in Los Angeles, with approximately $25 billion in assets under management.

Canyon Realty focuses on providing value-added debt and equity capital to real estate owners, operators, developers, mortgage lenders and corporations involved in time-sensitive and complicated projects, as well as on markets and transactions that are often overlooked, misperceived and difficult to underwrite. Since inception, Canyon Realty has invested over $5.1 billion of capital in over 204 commercial real estate and mortgage transactions with a total capitalization of $13.7 billion through its distinct real estate investment platforms.

About Lightstone

As one of the largest and most diversified privately held real estate companies in the United States, Lightstone is active in 24 states across the country, developing, managing and investing in all sectors of the real estate market, including residential, hospitality, commercial and retail. Headquartered in New York City, Lightstone also maintains a presence in key markets across the country, with regional offices in Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, New Jersey, and Las Vegas.

Our $2 billion portfolio currently includes over 9 million square feet of office, retail and industrial commercial properties, 11,000 residential units and 3,500 hotel keys. We also own over 12,000 land lots across the country.

In addition to the firm’s existing portfolio, we are one of the most active developers and operators of outlets malls in the United States, having developed, owned, and/or managed over 25 outlet malls, totaling approximately 8 million square feet.

Moreover, with a strong focus on the New York City market, we have approximately $2 billion worth of projects currently under development in the residential, hospitality and retail sectors.