Northwind Group Provides a $65 Million First-Mortgage Loan Secured by a 33-Story Class A Office Building Within the Jersey City Waterfront's Harborside Financial Center

NEW YORK, March 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwind Group, a Manhattan-based real estate private equity firm and debt fund manager, announced today that through its closed-end debt funds it provided a $65 million first mortgage, senior secured acquisition loan collateralized by Harborside 5, a 33-story Class A office property totaling over 1.5 million GSF including a 1,150-space parking garage featuring unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline and located adjacent to the Exchange Place PATH  train and ferry station in the waterfront district of Jersey City, NJ.

The property was acquired by 601W Companies, a leading office owner & operator and a repeat borrower of Northwind. In 2021, Northwind provided a $60 million bridge loan to 601W Companies on a 690K GSF office building in West Loop market of Chicago. The loan was fully repaid with a construction loan which capitalized for costs to reposition and modernize the asset. 601W Companies owns 20 million SF of commercial space across over 20 office buildings, with a collective value of ~6 billion. With the acquisition of Harborside 5, the Sponsorship adds to its Jersey City waterfront portfolio which already consists of Harborside 1, 2, and 3, where multimillion-dollar upgrades including a refresh of the interconnecting atrium and addition of new amenities is already underway.

Mark Karasick, managing member of 601W Companies, said "he is delighted to join forces once again with Northwind which wrapped their arms around the transaction quickly and whose execution was flawless. We are very excited about the rapid growth and development of Jersey City and look forward to great leasing success." 

The generationally low basis for a modern office property combined with prior experience lending to 601W Companies enabled Northwind Group to structure a competitive and swift financing solution for the Sponsorship, who acquired the property from Veris Residential in an off-market transaction. The loan capitalizes $45 million for the acquisition while also providing the Sponsorship with additional funds to commence an accretive leasing program.

In the first quarter of 2024, Northwind Group has successfully closed on over $400 million in loans in NYC and other major gateway cities and is continuing to provide capital to high quality borrowers and properties.

"We are pleased to partner once again with 601W Companies, which reinforces our commitment to expanding our relationships with repeat, high quality sponsors. Despite the challenges in today's office market, the very attractive basis of this acquisition coupled with recent institutional leasing velocity in Jersey City gives us confidence in the potential of this Class A office building, which is a strong value-proposition for businesses looking to upgrade their space. This is the first office loan we felt comfortable issuing in the last 3 years and the loan's attractive basis fits well within our funds' investment risk profile and loan diversification strategy." said Ran Eliasaf, founder and managing partner of Northwind Group.

About Northwind Group
Northwind Group, founded in 2008 by Ran Eliasaf, is a Manhattan based real estate private equity firm with $3 billion in AUM that invests primarily in debt instruments through its discretionary closed-ended debt funds. For further information, go to www.northwind-group.com.

About 601W Companies
The principals of 601W Companies oversee one of America's leading private real estate acquisitions, ownership, development, and management portfolios in the country. Over the past twenty-five years, 601W has acquired many substantial and well-known commercial properties throughout the country, aggregating more than forty-five million square feet with a collective value in excess of $12 billion.

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SOURCE Northwind Group