Eastern Union closes $62.25 million construction loan for new Lidl supermarket

Brooklyn, NY Eastern Union has secured a $62.25 million construction loan for a 105,000 s/f, mixed-used property in Crown Heights that will be home to a new, 33,000 s/f Lidl discount supermarket.

The development is located at 1730 Bedford Ave. at the intersection of Empire Blvd. two blocks from Prospect Park.

The multi-use complex will also include 12,000 s/f of additional retail space, 57 residential units totaling 39,000 s/f in size, 12,000 s/f of class-A office space, and a 9,000 s/f community facility.

The mortgage, which covers 100% of hard costs, was arranged by Abraham Bergman, president and co-founder of Eastern Union, and company vice president Yossi Orzel.

The project’s developer is Seventh Street Development Group. The floating-rate loan, which runs over a two-year term, was provided by Invictus Real Estate Partners, together with Maxim Capital Group and Beach Point Capital Management.

“We were highly fortunate to be able to work with two outstanding partners on this transaction,” said Rivkah Sontag-Tepler, co-founder and CEO of Seventh Street Development Group. “Eastern Union showed a keen ability to source funding and to coordinate the overall process. In addition, Invictus Real Estate Partners demonstrated both flexibility as well as outstanding dealmaking skills.”

“It is a privilege to be bringing this project to Brooklyn’s Crown Heights community,” said Jack Gold, co-founder and chief operating officer of Seventh Street Development Group. “Working with Eastern Union has allowed us to focus on our active construction project while simultaneously sourcing and building this loan.

“We’re confident that Lidl will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood and we’re now engaged in preliminary discussions with other national retailers about leasing opportunities at this property.”

Based in Arlington, Virginia, Lidl operates more than 170 stores on the East Coast, with 27 in New York State. In New York City, Lidl currently operates stores in Staten Island, Harlem, and Astoria.

The Lidl grocery store will offer a bakery, fresh produce, floral, meats and seafood sections, as well as other everyday grocery essentials, with unmatched value and a simple and efficient shopping experience. Eighty percent of the store’s assortment consists of private label products and the majority are sourced in the U.S. USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards and Food & Wine Magazine have repeatedly ranked Lidl among the top grocers in the country.

“We are thrilled to be bringing Lidl’s high-quality groceries, low prices and convenient shopping experience to the Crown Heights community,” said Or Raitses, senior director of real estate for Lidl’s northern region. “We look forward to continuing our expansion in New York City and opening even more stores in the future, bringing our unique value proposition to additional areas of the city where New Yorkers for far too long have had to put up with high grocery prices.”

“In today’s marketplace, it’s challenging to secure a substantial construction loan for a commercial project,” said Bergman of Eastern Union. “Our success here is attributable to the quality of the Eastern Union team, and also to the fact that we were able to work with a well-organized developer who approached the process with reasonable expectations.”