Naftali Group has closed on a $236 million construction loan for development of its latest New York City project, a 62-unit luxury condominium residence on the Upper East Side.
J.P. Morgan and Starwood Capital provided a financing package for the property, which will be located at 255 E. 77th St. Additional information pertaining to the financing could not immediately be learned.
Construction has begun on the 36-story tower, which was designed by Hill West Architects and is estimated to be approximately 500-feet tall. Sales are slated to launch in 2024. Ground-floor retail is expected to be included in the property.
Miki Naftali, chairman and CEO of Naftali Group, said in a prepared statement that his firm’s commitment to long-term investments in New York City remains unwavering.
Naftali Group acquired the site in the Yorkville neighborhood for approximately $73 million in 2021, according to several media reports. The Commercial Observer reported that Naftali Group had purchased two five-story apartment buildings with ground-floor retail at 1481-1489 Second Ave. from Sky Management Corp. in December 2021. The properties were located between 77th and 78th streets. Demolition of those buildings began in the summer of 2022 and was completed by April 2023, according to New York Yimby.
255 East 77th Street will be located near retail and dining destinations on Madison and Fifth avenues and will also be a short distance from Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim and the Frick Collection.
Active development pipeline
Naftali noted that the firm has had sell-outs at three record-breaking luxury condo projects in Manhattan since 2020, including The Benson at 1045 Madison Ave., 200 East 83rd and The Bellemont at 1165 Madison Avenue.
The Bellemont, a 13-story boutique condominium property, was designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects and offered half-floor, full-floor, duplex and penthouse units. The site’s 11 units sold out within five months, including the record-setting $67.8 million sale of Penthouses C and D. The transaction was among the most expensive ever recorded above 59th Street on the Upper East Side.
The firm also has several new development projects in the pipeline in Manhattan as well as Brooklyn, where the first phase of 470 Kent Avenue is underway and slated for completion in 2025. In November 2022, Naftali Group and Access Industries secured $385 million in financing to build the mixed-use Williamsburg project. It will have three residential towers with 561 units and about 19,000 square feet of commercial space across the three buildings.
In addition to the projects in New York City, Naftali Group is developing more than 3 million square feet of residential and mixed-use space in two projects in Florida, including the recently launched JEM Private Residences in Miami. Located inside the 27-acre Miami Worldcenter, the $580 million mixed-use project will feature a 67-story tower with 259 luxury condos and 550 rental apartments.
