Ariel Property Advisors’ Capital
Services Group arranges two loans

East Harlem, NY The Capital Services Group for Ariel Property Advisors (Ariel) arranged two loans totaling over $14 million for an affordable housing complex in New York and an industrial outdoor storage site in Florida.

Matt Swerdlow and Matt Dzbanek, both senior directors with Ariel Property Advisors, arranged the following transactions:

A $9.4 million loan to refinance the Olga Mendez Apartments at 1652 Park Ave. and 91 E 116^th St., a two-building, 77-unit, affordable housing, mixed-use complex encumbered by a 420(c) tax exemption and three NYS & NYC regulatory agreements. The lender in the transaction was Fannie Mae via PGIM and the terms of the non-recourse, fully assumable loan include three years interest only and seven years fixed financing at a 5.56% interest rate.

“Although the market is challenging today, both of these assets generated a significant amount of interest from lenders,” Swerdlow said. “The Olga Mendez Apartments, named after the first Puerto Rican-born woman elected to the NYS senate, will continue to provide much-needed affordable housing to the East Harlem community.”

A $4.675 million loan for the purchase of a 10-acre site in Largo, Fla. The property, which includes a former cement factory, was leased during the contract period and will be used as industrial outdoor storage (IOS). The 75% LTC, 18-month, non-recourse loan closed in 30-days.

OS involves land zoned for industrial purposes where tenants store items such as vehicles, construction equipment, and containers outside, usually featuring a small office and tool storage building, on parcels ranging from two to ten acres with a building-to-land ratio under 20%. This category also includes truck terminals, specialized facilities for efficient goods transfer between trucks, primarily utilized by less-than-truckload (LTL) logistics operators.

Borrower Ari Sason, of the Sason Organization, said, “We are thrilled to close on this transaction. We spotted an opportunity to purchase heavy industrial zoned land at a significant discount to where comparable land parcels have traded. Further, we were able to significantly de-risk this acquisition by signing a master lease with a leading provider of truck, trailer, and container parking solutions across the nation before we closed on the acquisition. We continue to look for similar opportunities across the Florida markets where we can reduce risk and drive value for our investors.”