Avatar Financial Group provides $3.7 million bridge loan on newly completed mixed-use project

Paterson, NJ Avatar Financial Group LLC (Avatar) provided a $3.7million cash-out bridge loan on a newly constructed mixed-use property at 59 Pearl St. The two-year, first-lien loan was originated at 64% loan-to-value. The borrower, an experienced New Jersey multifamily developer, owner and operator with a portfolio of more than 10,000 apartments, is putting the proceeds toward its next project. Seven of the building’s 16 market-rate apartments had been leased by the closing date. The sponsor plans to obtain permanent financing from an established long-term lending partner once the property completes lease-up.

“This is a developer who has been building in New Jersey longer than most of the people underwriting him have been in the business,” said T.R. Hazelrigg IV, Avatar’s president and co-founder. “He could have left that equity sitting in a finished building for a year, waiting on a bank. He would rather have it working on the next site. Speed is a competitive advantage in development, and it is why a builder that size still uses bridge capital.”

The three-story, 13,500 s/f building contains 16 apartments and one ground-floor retail space totaling 676 s/f. The unit mix consists of six studios, six one-bedroom and four two-bedroom apartments, finished with stainless-steel appliances, quartz countertops and luxury vinyl tile flooring, with a resident lobby and mail room. The property carries a 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with the city.

Leasing across Northern New Jersey has held up, with the metro posting the third-smallest net absorption pullback among major markets over the year ended in March, according to Marcus & Millichap’s second-quarter 2026 report. Renter demand remains supported by high ownership costs, spillover from New York City and healthcare hiring that leads all major East Coast metros.