BHI provides $167 million construction loan to Yellowstone to convert 221 West 41st St. into 176-unit multi-family
Manhattan, NY BHI, the U.S Branch of Bank Hapoalim, B.M. and a full-service commercial bank, has provided Yellowstone with $167 million to convert the Candler Building at 221 West 41st St,. a 25-story 221,357 s/f office building, into a 176-unit multifamily building along with an 18,174 s/f retail component. Naftali Credit Partners will provide an additional $36 million in mezzanine financing, bringing the total loan amount to $203 million.
The apartments will range from studio to two-bedroom unit layouts, most of which will have one or two home offices. Overall, it is expected that 44 apartments will be set aside for households in compliance with the 467-M Affordable Housing conversion program.
Formed as a joint venture between major international institutional investors, Yellowstone pursues real estate investment opportunities where its development, management, and operations expertise enable value creation. The management team is in the process developing, several assets across the portfolio including 440 West 57th St. and 1740 Bdwy. and 541 Lexington Ave.
The company is helmed by CEO Issac Hera, who oversees the firm’s overall business, operations, and investment strategy. Prior to Yellowstone, Hera was CEO of Star Real Estate Ventures, an income-producing residential real estate company as well as the CEO of Brack Capital Real Estate USA, the American subsidiary of the publicly traded international real estate development firm Brack Capital.
BHI has served as a financial partner for Yellowstone on several occasions, most recently through collaborating on real estate deals and the issuing of a capital call line to enable the developer to make opportunistic acquisitions immediately before needing to make corresponding capital calls from their existing LPs.
“BHI has long been an active partner to Manhattan’s development community, working alongside sponsors to unlock value and support the continued evolution of the city’s real estate landscape,” said Ilana Druyan, senior vice president - team leader and head of international origination – CRE, at BHI. “Our bank is continually active in the wide city trend of office to residential conversions as a mechanism to create more living spaces for NYC residents and we’re pleased to support Yellowstone with this capital to advance their vision for repositioning this asset and bringing it back to market with renewed purpose.”
“Having a partner like BHI who understands both the speed and complexity required to execute on opportunities in Manhattan is incredibly valuable,” said Isaac Hera, CEO, Yellowstone Real Estate.
“Their ability to align with our business plan and deliver capital with certainty allows us to move decisively as we reposition assets and pursue opportunities across the market. We’re excited to continue building on this relationship.”